Eric, Steph, Ethan, Ella, Matthew & Majors

Beauty & the Beast

2010-07-27T13:48:00.007-05:00

This summer we put Ella in dance class for the first time. Her best preschool friend, Leah, was in her class with her. She absolutely loved it! It was so much fun to watch her. I am not sure if she enjoyed the dancing or the wall to wall mirrors more :)

Her teacher Miss Laurie was the choreographer of a community theater production of "Beauty and the Beast." Last night I took Ethan and Ella to a tea with the cast and the show. It was such a great time. Ella insisted to wear her Belle dress up. I considered protesting for a second, then thought this was the most appropriate occasion to wear it out in public if

there ever was one! Belle came by and got her picture taken with the girls (and Ethan) and talked with them over PB & J and Apple Juice. When Belle asked Ethan if she could take her picture with him, he got so shy. He wouldn't look at her directly and just grinned and grinned. She may be his first crush!

I was really impressed at how well they behaved in the show. I wrongly assumed that since it was a children's group that it would be about an hour. Oh no. It was the full length Broadway show. Complete with the 5 extra songs that weren't in the Disney movie. By the second act (and past 9 pm) Leah's mom and I were rolling our eyes when they sang something we weren't familiar with. But the kids were unfazed by the late hour, storms rolling outside, sore bottoms, and at times off key singing to extra songs. Sometimes I want to stop time and make them quit growing up. But I am completely excited about them getting to an age when we can do fun things like this. It is fun to watch things through them. The absolute amazement, awe and excitement that shined in their eyes as they watched the cast sing and dance. Maybe instead of just loving to watch Broadway shows like their mama, one of them will actually be in one some day! Or at least get season tickets and take me with them.

Summer Fun

2010-07-19T14:14:00.008-05:00

So my last post had snow and now Beach trip! To say that I have been bad about keeping up the blog is an understatement. In fact, the only person that may even read this is Mimi and Nana and that may be in a month. But here it goes....

At the end of May we went to the beach for a family vacation. We went to Rosemary Beach (between Panama City Beach and Destin, FL) We had planned to just stay for 4 days. We thought there was no way that just Eric and I could handle the Greer kids in a beach setting on our own. Turns out we did ok, so we stayed all week! The kids had a fantastic time

and keep asking when we are going back to our beach house :) Here are a few pictures of our trip.

Matthew taking a little ride on the luggage cart at the hotel pit stop mid way. We had that baby loaded DOWN!

To Ella, going to the beach or pool is all about the snacks!

Daddy and the boys. Ella would run close to the surf, then scream like a mad woman running when it would wash up. The girl has some lungs. I am sure the other people on the beach were

glad we weren't there for more than a couple of hours at a time.

Ethan throwing the shells back in the water. Maybe BP should hire him for clean up crew now!

Rough Week

2010-01-26T13:00:00.003-06:00

Last week was a rough one at the Greer Household. Everyone except Eric got sick. It goes with the territory when you have toddlers of course! It started with a nasty cold that trickled from Ethan to Ella to me then Matthew.

On Tuesday I loaded Ethan & Ella up and took them to see Dr Betts after they started running temperatures. Running fevers is pretty unusual for my brood. Although it proved to be fruitless, Mimi came and played with Matthew to keep him from the germ infested doctor's office. Ethan was diagnosed with a nasty infection in both ears. Ella was all clear. He told me to watch her and bring her back if her fever didn't come back down.

By Thursday she was still running a temp and Matthew started to also. I was planning on asking them to run a flu test on her because I knew that it was more than a cold. I was shocked though when he told me that she in fact had pneumonia! We had been having a very difficult time getting her to take her medicine that week, so the doctor wanted to give her a strong antibiotic shot in the office to make sure we got some meds in her quickly. The shot was HORRIBLE. It was so big that the nurse split it into 1 shot per leg. She even warned me before how painful it would be and she may be limping the next day. By the time she was done giving them to her, we were both sobbing. I have never heard my sweet girl cry like that. It absolutely broke my heart. Fortunately, her legs didn't seem to bother after a few hours. Matthew was diagnosed with an ear infection too. He hardly skipped a beat. He is the best natured sick baby ever :)

Ella got much worse before she got better. We were up all night with Ella Thursday. She couldn't sleep too long before she had a coughing fit and would throw up. At 3 am, she had between a 104 & 105 temperature. We were able to get it to come down though with Motrin and that seemed to be when she turned the corner. We were so thankful that Nana came to help out. It was a treat for the kids to see someone other than boring old Mommy and I certainly appreciated the helping hand!

Now the only lingering memory of our long week is the antibiotic that Matthew & Ella still are taking twice a day and a line of toys that are desperately needing a Clorox bath. Try explaining to a VERY strong willed 3 year old princess that "Yes I know you are not sick anymore, but you still have to take this horrible, chalky, white medicine twice a day for 10 days." Yea. Not easy or pleasant.

Snow Day!!

2010-01-08T14:23:00.007-06:00

All week we have been looking forward to the "big snow" that was forecasted for Thursday. All Ethan could talk about was snowballs and Ella couldn't wait to make her Princess Snowman. As we got closer and closer the inches got smaller and smaller. We got maybe half an inch and a lot of ice on the roads. It is enough for the kids to want to play in, but not enough to do much in. Never the less, we still spent 30 minutes bundling up to go play in the snow for about 10 minutes.

No Princess Snowman, but my angel made some snow angels! Poor thing had to do them on the sidewalk because there wasn't enough you could see on the grass!

Ethan considered doing a snow angel but he had more sense than to lay in wet snow in 20 degree weather!

"Help I have fallen and I can't get up because my Mommy has me bundled up so much!!!"

2009 Wrap Up

2010-01-04T15:17:00.003-06:00

Once again I find myself apologizing for falling off the blogging wagon :) I realize it has been a couple of months since I have updated on here. My mom keeps telling me it looks like Ethan and Ella never even celebrated their birthday!

We have good excuses though......sickness, house being on the market, 3 kids and trying to do a Bible study every day.....all left me little time to blog. Santa heard about my plight though and brought me a new MacBook to help me out. Now I can get on the computer a lot easier!

Instead of a long post about everything we have been doing, I put together a little slideshow of the last couple of months. Enjoy!

Matthew's First Birthday

2009-10-08T16:17:00.002-05:00

Monday was Matthew's first birthday. It seems like it was just yesterday Eric and I were racing to the hospital when I finally realized I was in labor. On the other hand, I can barely remember what our little family was like before this precious, giggling boy joined us last year. We have been blessed beyond measure.

It was the birthday party that almost never was. 4 out of 5 Greers spent the weekend before with a really nasty stomach bug. Matthew kicked it off on Thursday. I got it about midnight on Friday. Ethan started about 5 am on Saturday and Eric started right at kickoff on Saturday evening. Fortunately Ella was spared. She tends to have a stronger immune system, so when we saw she was ok on Saturday morning, we shipped her off to Mimi and PaPa's to keep her well. We were all better by Sunday morning but it took us another day just to get our strength back. Although we thought we played it safe by pushing back his party, we still managed to share our crud with the Crazy Cousins and poor Aunt Amy :(

We had a great time at the party though. All the cousins played together (and apparently shared germs). Matthew was spoiled with lots of cool gifts. He REALLY enjoyed the cake.

Here is us singing Happy Birthday

Matthew Enjoying Cake

Daddy gets the blame

Now we get to do it all over again in 10 days for Ethan and Ella's 3rd birthday!

First Day of Preschool!!

2009-09-09T16:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the first day of preschool for Ethan and Ella. Since we got them potty trained, they were able to go ahead and be in the 3 year old class despite their late birthday. They were so excited to go back after their break in August. This time they will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am looking forward to them learning a lot this year and making new friends. I am also looking forward to some one on one time with Brewser/Matty/Brewster/Baby Matthew.

It was hilarious when I took this picture. Their backpacks are too heavy for them to carry at this point. Maybe by the end of the year. But I had to get the standard backpack picture by the front door. I put the backpacks on them and had them walk 8 or so feet to the door. They could barely walk straight from the weight of it. I got a real laugh at their expense : )

Catch Up

2009-08-26T06:30:00.003-05:00

So I have fallen off the blogging wagon AGAIN. I have really really good excuses though.....

1) Eric's crazy work hours. Starting in June, Eric started working really long hours. His company, Emdeon, was going through their Initial Public Offering which means a lot of filings with the SEC. He wouldn't get home until after 10 and sometimes it was well after midnight. He worked really hard and I am proud of him. You can read more about it here (http://www.cnbc.com/id/32362316).

It really was a great experience for him and a good resume builder! So since he was working all the

time, that meant that I was working all the time too. When naptime or bed time came for the kids,

I crashed too! It was a good experience for me too. Now I know that I can do it all on my own if I

need to!

2) Beach Vacation. On the last week of July, we went on a wonderful week long beach vacation. We

went to Inlet Beach, FL with Eric's family. It was awesome. We had a big house with a pool that was

right next to the beach. The kids LOVED playing in the sand and warmed up to the ocean pretty

quickly. In fact, we couldn't hardly sit down because they wanted to go play in the water so much! Of

all the kids though, I think Matty liked it best. He was ready for us to just throw him in there and go for

a swim!

3) Potty Training. I decided if I wasn't well rested enough after a week at the beach, then I would never

be relaxed enough to tackle potty training. So Monday morning we jumped into potty training with both

feet. The first day was horrible. I cleaned up pee off the carpet, the hardwoods, Ethan's booster seat,

and our couch (not the leather one either!!!) I sat at the kitchen table and cried at dinner. I prayed

"Lord I know I probably shouldn't pray for something like this but I need some kind of hope please!!"

Then I heard Ella yell from the bathroom "Mama I poo pooed!!!" Finally it started to click. My sister and

her girls came the next day and that was a HUGE help! Everyone got into the cheering when they went

potty. Ella is now 98% potty trained. She still wears a pull up at night just in case. Ethan is about 85%

there. He is struggling with #2. He can't be bothered to sit and wait on the potty, so he usually is

running when it is too late. We are getting there though. We had a "potty party" on Sunday night to

celebrate all our progress. I made cupcakes. We lit a candle for each then sang "Happy Potty Day"

before we blew them out. We even had little presents.....Dora for Ella and Buzz & Woody for Ethan.

Since they are potty trained now they can be in the 3 year old class at their preschool. Since they have

an October birthday they miss the cut off so they would have had to be in a 2 year old class. I am real

excited they can be in the 3 year old class. They are so verbal. I would really rather them be in a class

with kids that are a little older than younger.

The VonGreer Family Singers

2009-07-13T15:01:00.003-05:00

Ethan and Ella LOVE to sing. Before nap and bedtime at night we have to sing a song. Ella sings "Jesus Loves Me." Ethan sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" once in his rocking chair and once in bed. Lord help you if you forget to do it in the rocking chair too! Besides their bedrooms and the Greer Mini Van, their favorite venue for performing is the dinner table. Now I know that Miss Manners says that singing at the dinner table is a No No, but she hasn't seen how cute my kids are!!!!

For your viewing pleasure......

Ella sings "Jesus Loves Me" It melts my heart every time!!

Ella's medley and Ethan's "Twinkle Twinkle" and Matthew thoroughly enjoying his ravioli

Seriously, how did I get so blessed???

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one BLESSING after another." John 1:16

Oh yeah.... Jesus Loves ME!! : )

Meet Bruiser Greer

2009-07-13T14:04:00.004-05:00

We have been trying to find just the right nickname for Matthew. Ethan & Ella have nicknames that have really stuck. We call them Buddy & Sissy nearly as much as we do their given names.

When I was pregnant with him, we all called him Peanut. That didn't really stick once he was born. I refer to him as Matty when I write but rarely do I ever say it outloud. (Which actually is funny because I had to campaign with Eric to be "allowed" to call him that. I got permission until he was in kindergarten but not after : ) Over the past couple of weeks, his natural nickname has become clear.

Meet Bruiser Greer. Bruiser is a rough and tough little guy. When he sees something he wants, he crawls full speed ahead grunting and giggling the whole way. If there is a toy, person, or dog in his way he just plows right over it. He can't be bothered with going around anything. This morning he has ripped the glass door off the fireplace TWICE. Then when I was singing to him before I laid him down for a nap, he yanked his mobile off his crib. He can eat like a champ too. He just started table food last week and is already eating more than his Buddy & Sissy! He has a very healthy appetite. That works out well because he doesn't tolerate taking a bottle much. He simply can't be bothered laying still like a baby for the 10 or so minutes it takes to feed him one! The whole time I am giving him one, he is wiggling around or playing with his foot. His favorite position is to grap his left foot and to play with is up by his ear.

He is growing well. Last week at his 9 month appointment he measured at 18 lbs 1 oz. That is almost 2 lbs heavier than Ethan was at the same time. We tend to think that Bruiser is so big, but he is still only in the 14th percentile! I guess we Greer's have skewed view of baby sizes after 5 preemies in the family : )

All about Matty!!

2009-06-16T13:47:00.003-05:00

It has been a while since I have given a good update on our baby boy! It is amazing how much he is growing and changing every day. Matthew turned 8 months old on the 5th. He is such a happy baby. I can't take him out without someone commenting on that and his big beautiful smile. He is such the little flirt. He has FOUR teeth now and loves to show them off. He got them early and likes to grow them in pairs. He got his first 2 at 5 months and the second 2 at 7 months. So he should probably be getting another couple in the next few weeks by his routine :)

I weaned Matthew last month. I think it was harder on me than it was on him. He hardly skipped a beat. Eric is enjoying being able to help with it more.....especially since he is sleeping through the night now! Really Matthew would much rather we just plop a big ole steak down on his tray. He LOVES to eat. He really likes trying to feed himself too. He has been self feeding with Puffs and little chunks of fruit and is really pretty good at it. We will start to do more finger foods when he turns 9 months. Goodbye pureed baby food!

The real shake up in the household came about a month ago when Matthew started crawling. He went from rocking to rocketing across the floor over night. We thought we had the house sufficiently babyproofed and he quickly prooved us wrong. Every day I find something else I need to move out of his reach - then he reaches a little higher. He is already pulling up and I am afraid that he will walking before we know it! Here is a video I shot this morning of him crawling around. He was enjoying playing with his big brother and big sister away at school.

First Day of Preschool

2009-06-04T09:38:00.005-05:00

Last Fall we were going to start Ethan and Ella in a Mother's Day Out program at our church. When we thought there was a good chance of Matthew being premature, we decided to delay their start. We thought there would be too much change all at the same time for them. Not to mention, their little immune systems being tested while we had a newborn at home.

I was excited when I found out that Harpeth Heights Baptist Church has a summer program. They are enrolled on Tuesdays in June and July. Since they are going to go 2 days starting in September, I thought this was a good way to ease them into it.

Tuesday was their first day of preschool. We have been talking it up for weeks. We went to Target and they got to pick out their lunchbox and backpacks. Ethan got a Spiderman lunchbox and Batman back pack. Ella got a Tinkerbell lunchbox and Princess backpack. Their backpacks are hilarious. They have to be big to fit everything they have to bring everyday. I swear they are half the size of them!

I think (actually I know!) I was more nervous about it than they were. When I dropped them off, they just marched right in like big kids. They didn't hesitate and hardly looked back to say goodbye. When I went to pick them up, they were still playing. They were happy to see me, but I didn't get the impression that they had been missing me much. They had a ball. Their little hands were covered in marker and they chattered and sang the whole way home about preschool.

Matthew and I had a good day too. We went to the pool for an hour and had some quality Mommy/MattyG time : ) Honestly, I don't know what I am going to do with myself once they start 2 days a week!

Zoo School

2009-05-29T15:51:00.004-05:00

For the last couple of months Ethan and Ella have spent every Wednesday morning taking a class at the Nashville Zoo called "Zoo Twos." They thoroughly enjoyed it and asked every morning when I got them up if they were going to Zoo School today.

It was really a neat program. At the beginning all the kids would sit in a semi circle on their carpet squares and listen to the days lesson from Ms. Julie. She would ask lots of questions and the kids would yell out the answers. It was neat to watch Ethan and Ella get braver and braver through the class about answering the questions. After the lesson, they would get a chance to meet 2 different animals. We met lots of neat ones - a boa, a turtle, a sloth, and Ethan's favorite - a Macaw!! Ethan about came unglued when the Macaw came out. They would hold out one finger and pet each of them. Much to my delight, Ms. Julie's assitant followed right behind with Purell :) After they met animals, they would have a craft. Usually it was Mommy racing to finish 2 crafts while they colored on the butcher paper covering the table. Then they would go back to their carpet squares for a story and snack of animal cookies. They ended the class holding hands and sining their zoo song. They loved it and would sing it all the way home.

I am so glad we got a chance to participate in this. We may even sign up for the next one in the Fall!

Sunday Funnies

2009-05-17T16:14:00.002-05:00

God not only blessed me with 3 adorable kids, He also blessed us with 3 very funny kids. They say things all the time and I think "I need to write that down so I don't forget it." I am going to try to be a little better about doing that here in our blog. Here are a few quick funnies to get us caught up

* We were sitting at the table eating lunch after church last week. Our little lady, Ella, really let one rip. I gave her a stern look, she grinned and said "Excuse me!! My heinie burped!" Eric and I usually try to hide our laughter when they say something funny but unappropriate....not a chance this time. We were in tears!

* We were reading a book over at Mimi & PaPa's that had an elephant in it. Ethan pointed at it and said "Roll Tide!" (To clarify for our non-TN family that reads this, this phrase is something that should never be said.) I had to ask him to repeat this because I couldn't imagine where he would here this. I called Eric on the way home to tell him. Who would teach our precious boy such a vile phrase? Eric was convinced it must be a Sunday School teacher and that clearly we would have to pull them out of church ; ) When I told PaPa he started laughing really hard. Apparently, he made an off hand remark to Ethan a few weeks before when they were looking at the elephants at the zoo. What a memory! Eric has considered revoking grandparent rights in light of this. I have been working to deprogram since then. I am not entirely sure what an elephants says. So if you ask my kids what an elephant says now they will say in a high pitched voice "I'm an elephant!"

* The kids love Dora the Explorer. It is an interactive cartoon that teaches them many Spanish phrases. We were stuck at a roadblock on the way to the Y and not moving. Ella started yelling "Go in Spanish! Go in Spanish!" at me. (Instead of Vamonos : ) She also got very excited when she saw 2 little Mexican girls at the grocery store. "Look Mama! TWO Doras!!!"

I am sure there are more, but this is all I can think of for now. I wonder why...

Sissy the Fashionista

2009-05-06T14:55:00.005-05:00

On Saturday Ella was in a dress review for Old Timer's Day in Dickson, TN. Mimi signed her up for it with some ladies from her quilting shop. She wore a dress that Mimi made her last summer. Yes....it still fits the little thing! It is Ella's favorite dress. It has lots of ruffles that twirl and twirl when she spins. Mimi & Aunt Sharon made all the girls the same dress in different colored polka dot fabrics. Unfortunately we haven't been able to get them all together for a picture since we are so spread out. What a great picture that would be!

We all practiced our walk and spin on Saturday morning. Good thing we did because Ethan decided he needed to be up on stage with Sissy too!

To reward their participation, Granny B gave them suckers. Since I have kept them in a very clean bubble most of their lives, this was their first one. We'll see if their will be a second.

It seemed every kid there had a balloon and it took us forever, but we finally found where to get them one too. Oh the little things.....

Buddy & Sissy's First Fish Fry

2009-05-05T14:30:00.005-05:00

A couple of weekends ago Ethan & Ella got a special treat and went to spend the weekend with their Nana & Papa in Paris, TN. Every year they celebrate the "World's Biggest Fish Fry" there. They thought they would really enjoy the parades and festivities. They thought right! They went to a parade on Friday and another on Saturday. Sarah told me that Ella had her parade wave down pat. Why am I not surprised?

Eric and I got a very cool treat that weekend too (aside from the whole 3 down to 1 kid thing) We are HUGE "24" fans. The actress who plays President Taylor, Cherry Jones, is from Paris. She came home for Fish Fry. Earlier in the week, they had an auction for charity with props from the show. Brent got us a script from an episode, a folder used by the Joint Chiefs in a scene, and shell casings from a gun shot by THE Jack Bauer!!!!!! I am not exaggerating one bit when I say I cried when I got it. Absolutely the coolest thing that has ever happened......at least we thought. Sarah called me from the parade on Friday and she got a picture of Ethan and Ella with President Taylor!!!!!! Ous kids are officially the coolest kids ever. I am so not missing Fish Fry next year even if I have to eat a piece of fish.

Happy Easter

2009-04-15T14:53:00.003-05:00

We had a great Easter this year. We traveled to Paris to spend the holiday weekend with Nana, Papa, Uncle Jamie, Aunt Amy, and the Crazy cousins. We had fun playing with all the kids. On Saturday afternoon we went to visit with some of Eric's friends from high school for a little bit. It was great to be able to get all the kids together. Sunday morning we all went to church with Nana and Papa. Let me tell you.....getting 6 kids and 8 adults all ready and to church by 8:30 is no easy chore but we did it! We made it a full 20 minutes before we had to leave the service because Ethan was being too loud. The whole way down the steps he was saying "Houston come down! Where is Daddy?" And Ethan only has one volume - LOUD. They really enjoyed playing in the nursery once we got there! We had a big egg hunt and a wonderful Easter lunch prepared by Nana. On the way home, we stopped and Mimi and Papa's to see Grandma and Papatch. It was so good to see them!

Ella's Parisian Chambre

2009-04-07T13:30:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago, Eric and I had a marathon DIY weekend to transform the kids' hodgepodge rooms into their big kid rooms. Since we got Matthew's room together last summer, we have just shifted furniture from here to there and back again. They both had a twin bed and a crib in each of their rooms forever. Once they kicked the crib, I was ready to get their rooms in order!

Ella's room has a Parisian theme paying tribute to her Daddy's hometown. Of course if her Daddy was from somewhere less glamorous, we probably wouldn't go that route. And I should probably clarify that he is from Paris, TN not France....much better in my opinion!

Here are some pictures of our Princess' Big Girl room : )

Let me brag for a minute. I painted Ella's room. Eric didn't think I could, but I did it!!! Not sure if you can tell or not, but we did tone on tone stripes on this wall with a different sheen but same color. Eric helped with the taping and it was an big undertaking, but it was so worth it! I love how it turned out. The pictures over the bed are from Mimi and Papa's trip to Paris a few years back.

I put some sentimental pieces on Ella's dresser. The doll was mine when I was little and my Aunt Sharon made the purple dress she is wearing. The shadow box was made by my Pepa. In it is a porcelain shoe and tea set my Mema made. It also has a jewelry box my Uncle Wade made, a lamb made for her from Miss Linnie, a block from Miss Jodi, and the bear we got her when she was born. The porcelain little girl to the left of the shadow box was my nightlight when I was little. Mema made that for me too. I am so glad that she will grow up knowing these wonderful people whether she had the privilege to meet them or not!

I got this Eiffel Tower decal off of etsy.com. It is a website that has handmade crafts from everyday people. Very cool! Ella loves to sit in her rocking chair. She sits in it, rocks, and says "rocky ocky ocky!" It is key to our nap ritual. She sits in her rocker while I got lay Buddy down, then I get her out and lay her down.

This mirror was mine when I was in college. I spray painted it black and used a couple of other vinyl decals I got from the same person. One is a smaller Eiffel Tower and the other says "Oh La La!" Very appropriate for my little Sass Britches!

Getting the rooms done really was a whole family effort. Ethan and Ella spent the weekend with Nana and Papa having a ball. Mimi helped watch Matthew on Friday, taped both the rooms, and did the trim too. Matthew helped out by being the best little napper, so Mommy and Daddy could get their work done in time.

Ethan's room is just about done. Eric painted his room a color called Latte and that is exactly what it looks like. His room is a Baseball theme. I am picking up some of his Daddy's Baseball memorabilia this weekend to add to his room to finish it up. I will do a separate post when it is complete!

Dinner Time with the Greer Kids

2009-04-02T14:49:00.002-05:00

Having two 2 years olds is a lot of work. But having two 2 year olds is also thoroughly entertaining!! Ethan and Ella have always been very verbal kids. They are now quite conversational. It is fun for me to sit back and listen to them talk to each other.

Some of our best conversations happen at the dinner table. Our topics typically include: the weather (and if it is warm enough to swing or not), where all the cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents are that day, Daddy going to work, and last but not least the difference between girls and boys. Yes there are some repercussions to having boy/girl twins. One of them is that they learn about this at an early age. Blame it on the "props" at bath time : )

So I am sorry to say, if my kids have ever met you then it has been discussed whether or not you have a "wee wee" and if you are a girl or a good boy. (Always a good boy not just a boy :) I shutter to think what they say at Sunday School yet again...

Spring Break with the McCollums

2009-03-27T14:54:00.005-05:00

Last week was Emily and Meg's Spring Break so they made the long drive with Amy from Texas. We were so exicted to see them! We stayed busy the whole time they were here. We shopped, played and went to the zoo. PaPa bought 20 tokens for the carosel so all the kids got to ride it over and over and over and over and over again. I am making PaPa go with us next time so he can explain why they can't ride it a million times every trip to the zoo!!

Here are some pics from our fun day at the zoo

Three Little Monkeys

2009-03-25T16:24:00.006-05:00

We have a really cool indoor playground in Bellevue called the Monkey's Treehouse. The kids absolutely love to go there. Here are a few pictures of when we went a couple of weeks ago.....

Having a ball in the Ball Pit!

Mama and Baby Matthew

Old DcDonald's Adventure

2009-03-04T15:24:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning the kids were a little squirrley. Being cooped up inside all winter will do that to you. It was too cold to go play outside, so I thought I would do the next best thing. "Hey Kids! Want to go get some Old DcDonald's (aka McDonald's) for lunch?" Lots of whooping and hollaring followed to answer this question : )

So we loaded up the GMV with Mama and all her little ducklings to go get some Swinchy Sries (French Fries) from Old DcDonald's. The whole way we sang Old McDonald with every animal you can imagine whether they were bardyard dwellers or not. Cows, Pigs, Ducks, Frogs, Monkey, etc. We had a minor meltdown when they realized that Mama was taking the easy way out and going through the drive thru and not actually going in.

As I was pulling around to the first window, my heart dropped to me feet. Oh My Gosh. I forgot my wallet on my desk at home! NO!!!!! Instead of doing the noble thing and telling the person at the window about my mistake, I wimped out and high tailed it out of there. I grabbed my cell phone to call Eric and frantically whispered my situation to him. What was I to do? They hadn't noticed yet that the salty aroma wasn't filling our GMV. I didn't have much time and I had to come up with a plan before I had a full out war on my hands from my precious Swinchy Sry loving kids. Eric was no help. He laughed and said "Good luck with that."

First I tried to just redirect their appetites. Want some Hot Dog Diggity Dogs? NO!! Want some Papa Bologna? NO!! Swinchy Sries!!! I realized I had to man up. I told them I had to go home to get my money so we could get Swinchy Sries and that Mama was loosing it. To which Ella replied "Oh that would be so sad." So the whole way home Ella continued to remind me that I needed to get my monies and Ethan reminded me to change my batteries. 20 minutes later we were on the road again going to another neighborhood Old DcDonald's. I couldn't bring myself to go back to the same one because I just knew they would remember my order and give me 30 lashes : )

So our little outing was over an hour, 20 + verses of Old McDonald, 30 miles of driving, $12 in food and ended with 2 very happy little Greer kids, 1 exasperated Mama and fortunately a very clueless baby.

Matthew's first Meal

2009-03-02T15:52:00.010-06:00

Matthew started eating cereal for the first time last night. Boy has he been ready. He has been staring at us for weeks as we eat. In fact on Friday, he finally cut his first tooth. Now he is really ready to chow down!

Before.....

During.....

Just give me that Spoon!!!!

Ahhh! A full belly & bib!

And the bonus came last night when he slept for NINE straight hours! Yahoo! Too bad his big brother didn't.....

Bye Bye Germies!

2009-02-20T20:55:00.002-06:00

Wow has it been a long 2 weeks. The Greers are still fighting to get over our nasty colds. Ella got an ear infection 2 weeks ago. We all got snotty that week. Ethan waited until this last Sunday night to get a double ear infection. I didn't manage to have time to get myself to the doctor until today when I found out I had an upper respiratory infection and a sinus infection. Luckily, Baby Matthew has managed to keep his to just a cold. I got my doctor to take another peek at his ears today just to be sure. As usual, Eric made it through this virus unscathed. He never gets sick. I was glad to have his help at night. Nana came to help a couple of days this week too. Mimi and Papa were fighting the bug too but when they had enough strength they came over to help.

I think that when your kids are all sick at this age that is when it is the toughest to have more than one. They all want Mama to "hold you" (oh and they say it so so pitiful!) They have started to not want to share me! It just made me miserable to not be able to do it with each of them all day. But alas Mama has to hold Buddy, Sissy, & Baby Matthew. Oh yeah and fix breakfast, lunch, dinner, do 20 loads of laundry a week, be the sole nutrition source for Matthew, ya da ya da ya da. : )

I know this is all because they have weak immune systems. We joke that they are bubble kids. Let me defend myself a little though. I am not a complete crazy mom. When Ethan and Ella were born, they were born right at the beginning of cold & flu season. Since they were preemies, they spent 5 long weeks in the NICU before they could come home with us. We were lectured by the neonatologists and the pediatricians about keeping them at home so they don't get sick. They easily could have landed back in the hospital for simply getting a low grade fever. It wasn't until Spring when we felt it was safe to start to take them out. Honestly, it was such an ordeal I didn't do it as much as I probably should. It was so much easier to get Mimi to come over and things done in a quarter of the time. They started to get more mobile and that made it easier so we started to venture out more. Then I got pregnant with Matthew and was told I couldn't hold them. So that nixed that. They were walking, but still needed to be held after a little while. So here we are......cold and flu season again....newborn. I do venture out with the 3 of them by myself every once in a while. It is tough, but I am so proud of myself when it is over. I am trying hard to balance the need/desire for us to all get out versus the fear of us all gettting sick because it is so miserable. Next Fall Ethan and Ella are starting Mother's Day Out 2 days a week, so that should be really fun! I guess that will be baptism by fire germies!

So today Ethan and Ella went to Mimi and Papa's to escape a little bit. Before I went to the doctor, I went to war with the germies living in our playroom. The kids made sure they slimed every last toy in that room. I gathered all the plastic non-battery toys, tossed them in tub and douced them with Clorox and hot water. I took the below picture because I thought it was funny.

Matty Gs 4 months!

2009-02-11T16:19:00.003-06:00

I have a really good reason for my lack of posts (aside from the whole 3 kids 2 and under thing...) We all have a really crummy cold. It started last week with Ella and a cough that led to an ear infection and slowly it trickled to each of us. Eric is unscathed as usual. I guess it pays to be out in the germy world everyday ; )

Matthew had his 4 month appointment today. It was good to have his chest and ears looked at since he has a cold. Fortunately, everything is good! He is a whopping 13 pounds 4 ounces and a full 2 feet tall. He just giggled and talked to the pediatrician the whole appointment. It is amazing that the bulk of our last appointment a couple of months ago was about his colic. In the last week, we (read that as Steph) have really made great strides with his sleeping. I am able to lay him down in his crib awake and he will fall asleep with very little fussing. That is a huge accomplishment for us. I really struggled with getting him to sleep while still watching Ethan and Ella. Now that isn't an issue. Since we have started this, he has slept so much better and is a much happier baby. And that makes for a happier Mama!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

2009-02-11T16:14:00.003-06:00

Monday was Eric's 31st birthday. We celebrated all weekend long. On Saturday night I surprised him with a dinner with some of his friends. On Sunday we celebrated with his family with a cookout. We had wonderful weather so it was perfect for playing outdoors! Ethan was thrilled to see some candles again on Daddy's cake ; )

When Eric was opening his present from the kids he said "this isn't another shirt like last year is it?" (See Blog entry Feb 8, 2008 - that is how I told him I was pregnant with Matthew!) No - not this year. But he did get a Life is Good T shirt. And how!

A Little Vitamin D

2009-02-01T11:52:00.002-06:00

We finally got a little warm weather and sunshine this weekend. We have had some serious cabin fever this winter, so it was great to get outside and play. Poor Matthew slept through the recess but maybe he can join us next time!

Exersaucer Fun!

2009-02-01T11:42:00.002-06:00

Matthew is just growing up too fast! He has had really good upper body strength since birth really. He always has to have his head up looking around. He doesn't want to miss a thing! We decided to clean off the old exersaucer and let him give it a whirl. We had to put some blankets underneath since he was a little short, but it worked pretty well! He really enjoyed, but I think his big brother and big sister enjoyed it even more!

Our Little Man

2009-01-08T14:55:00.003-06:00

Last Friday night we decided it was time to move Matty into the nursery and out of our room at night. Eric made fun of me when I teared up as I stood up to walk to the nursery. "He is just going upstairs not away to college!" He stayed up there Friday night and has been back in our room since then : ) I mean look at that face. Wouldn't you like to look over and see that when you wake up in the middle of the night?? We are going to attempt to move him into his room again this Friday. So I guess we will enjoy this last night with him close by....

Matthew Booger Boo

2009-01-06T15:29:00.005-06:00

Matthew - Colicky Baby! Matthew - Happy Baby!

It seems we have turned the corner with Matthew. Hooray! He definitely still has his mad moments, but they are getting fewer and farer between. We have also figured out his "combination." The key is that he has to be facing out. He hates not seeing everything that is going on! When he gets mad, we walk with him facing out and walk and bounce. It takes a lot of coordination but we have it down pat. He really is generally pretty happy now. He has a beautiful smile. He likes to stick his little tongue out between his gums when he smiles. It is just precious. He also is babbling quite a bit. We have another talker on our hands!

He has grown so much. He is twice his birth weight now. I swear he put most of it on the last couple of weeks. I guess Christmas did a number on him too! He is really strong too. He rolled over for the first time when he was a little over 2 months. I never know where I will find him when I get him out of his crib. He likes to take my hands and pull himself into a sitting position. I think he may sit, crawl, etc earlier than usual. What a new experience for us!

We continue to struggle with him taking a bottle. He is quite stubborn. We know he can do it because he has before. He just chooses not to. He is going to need to someday because this Mama needs to be able to leave the house alone for more than an hour!!

Ella, My sweet Girl

2009-01-06T14:10:00.004-06:00

I am so thankful God blessed me with my sweet girl, Ella. Sometimes I am very thankful that He only blessed me with one sweet girl when she is throwing herself on the ground in one of her 2 year old moments : )

She is a girl of extremes. My favorite thing to hear is he to say "I low Choo Mama" (I love you Mama) One of my least favorite things to hear her screech is "Watch Barney!!!!!" She has developed quite the little personality. The other day I was a little brain dead and she told me that I needed new batteries. Where does she come up with these things????

Ethan is Candle Boy!!

2009-01-06T13:58:00.004-06:00

Christmas was a fun time for Ethan. For a boy that is OBSESSED with candles, Christmas is.... well like Christmas for him! He had his grandparents pulling candles from all around the house to sit in front of him while he ate. The whole family would join together to count to 3 after each meal to blow them out. He handled us taking down all the decorations and his precious candles much better than I thought. Now if he can't find something then he just nods his head and says it is in storage.

He was spoiled rotten by the family and Santa. He and Ella got a kitchen complete with a grill like Daddy's. They love it! They can't wait to get upstairs to play with it every day after breakfast. Of course he calls his jar of peanut butter and jelly his candle, but anyway....

Whew! Christmas is over!

2009-01-06T13:35:00.005-06:00

Again I have fallen way behind on my blogging. In an attempt to get caught up, I am going to do a post on each kiddo. But first, I will do a quick one about Eric and I. (Of course I know most just look at this blog for the pictures of the kids!)

As much as I love love love Christmas. I am glad it is over. We had a wonderful Christmas, but it is exhausting with kids! Amy, Dan and the girls came a spent a few days with us. We really enjoyed the visit. We also made a couple of trips to Paris to Nana and Papa's. We had fun playing with all the cousins.

Now I am getting back into the routine at home with the kids. Well actually we are still trying to figure out the routine! But we are getting closer every day. I completely underestimated how hard it would be to take care of all 3 by myself. The most challenging times are meal times and nap times. It never fails that Matthew wants to eat when I am trying to get breakfast or lunch together for Ethan and Ella. I have learned to listen to his cries and the kids have learned to enjoy Lunchables more! Matthew's morning and late afternoon naps are also tough. It is hard to help him wind down for a nap when Ethan and Ella are running about. But we are figuring that out too.

Eric was only able to take a week off at Christmas because he started a new job last Monday. He is now a Senior Finance Manager at Emdeon Inc. I really don't know anymore about what he does every day than I did before. But I do know that this is the direction he was wanting to take with his career. We are so thankful that God provided this opportunity for him. So far he seems to like it. Of course most of his co-workers were still on vacation last week! The only drawback is the long commute but we can certainly deal with that!

Eric rocking it out on the Wii with his nieces, Elizabeth & Madeline, and nephew, Houston. He really needs to brush up on his Hannah Montana!

Two Months old already??

2008-12-10T14:55:00.004-06:00

As I type, I have 1...2...3 babies sleeping all in their very own beds! VICTORY!!! If I can just swing this once in a while, then I stand a very good chance of being a sane mommy.

Monday we had Matthew's 2 month check up and vaccinations. The check up went very well. He weighs 10 lbs 4 oz now and is in the 10th percentile. So it seems as though he will be a little tike like his big brother and big sister. Dr Betts was very pleased with his growth. We talked a little bit about his "temper." It appears that he does have colic : ( Fortunately though, colic peaks at 2 months and usually goes away between 3 and 4 months. So we are almost there! He handled the 4 shots like a champ. He cried barely a minute, then slept the day away.

I made a new slide show with some of my favorite pictures from the last few days. Enjoy!

I'm not even gonna try.....

2008-12-07T13:58:00.002-06:00

I'm not gonna even try to catch up. Here is a picture from Thanksgiving. We had a great time. Grandma and Papatch came from Missouri to stay the week with Mimi and Papa. It was so good to see them. We have so much to be thankful for in their lives in particular! Amy, Dan, Emily and Meg came in from Texas too. I don't think Ethan or Ella quit laughing or running around the whole time they were here. Boy were they let down when we didn't wake up to go play over at Mimi and Papa's this week! Just boring old Mom : )

I will Survive : )

2008-11-26T14:37:00.002-06:00

I have officially survived my first week all by the lonesome with the kids. Alright....it was only a 3 day week, but I did it!!!! I have to say that there were some hairy times, but all in all we did pretty darn good. In fact, we even ventured out of the house to go shopping yesterday. Apparently Costco is very entertaining to a couple of 2 year olds who have been couped up (and their mommy for that matter)!

Yesterday my arms started aching and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Was I have flu-shot sympathy pains for Eric?? Then I picked up Ethan and realized what it was. My how your arms forget what it is like to pick up 2 kids over and over all day. Oh and the little one really likes to walk and bounce. We do that in circles several times a day. It is pretty entertaining because Ella and Ethan will follow along behind me doing the same thing : ) It is the new Greer exercise routine. Too bad it doesn't work as well as sit ups. Still planning on getting to those someday......

I Low Choo!!

2008-11-22T15:15:00.003-06:00

Oh my sweet Ella Girl. I just had to share a couple of stories about my adorable daughter.

The other night when Eric was bathing the kids he called me to come in there. Ella was holding her Ernie and Elmo tub toys up to her chest and acting like she was nursing them. Like I said - such the little mommy!

While I was driving down the road I heard Ella singing "I low Choo Buddy" (I love you Buddy). I looked in the rearview mirror and she was holding his hand and swinging it back and forth. They both were grinning from ear to ear.

How did I get so lucky???

Long Over Due!

2008-11-16T13:24:00.007-06:00

I am a bad blogger. I have blogged in my head many a times over the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately it has either been at 2 am while I am nursing Matty or another time when I don't have the time or energy to post. We have been busy with getting our 2 year & 1 month pictures made,Christmas shopping, playing, eating, some sleeping, and just getting plain big! So in an effort to get up to date quick, I am going to post like I used in my GE days......Bullet Points!!

Ella

* Officially a 2 year old. Sometimes I think she is a cross between a 2 year old and a teenager. She is completely bi-polar. One moment she is kissing and telling you she loves you, then next it is an endless string of "No's." She has started putting herself in the corner. Nothing seems to deter her at this point.....prayers are welcome and appreciated : )

* She is loving being a big sister. She constantly asks/demands to "Look at Baby Matthew!" Then she has to kiss his cheek, eyes, nose, eyebrow....you get the picture!

* The La Leche League would be proud of this someday mommy. She has taken to nursing her Elmo and Cookie Monster toys in the bathtub! I would love to get a picture and post, but I am afraid we would get in trouble ; )

* We had a close call with Ella last Friday. She ran 100mph right into a corner and busted her forehead open. Fortunately our neighbor Dr Carl came over and patched her up without any stitches. She is tough as nails. She cried at first because it hurt, but then just cried because she wanted Mommy to throw away the shoowey paper towel that I was pressing on her head to stop the bleeding.

Ethan

* Ethan is loving his new tricycle his Nana and Papa got him for his birthday. He is an expert at keeping his feet and hand right where they are supposed to be. He could ride up and down the block all day.

* My heart is breaking because my precious boy has already found his first girlfriend.....Tinkerbell. His eyes light up and he grins from ear to ear every time he sees her!

* Ethan has really enjoyed looking at all the toy catalogs that have come in the mail. He can now name a number of characters he never knew before by sight - Superman, Batman, Indiana Jones, Iron Man. Eric is so relieved he has been more interested in the superheros than Barbie!

Matthew

* Today Matty is 6 weeks old. I have read this is the height of fussiness for babies. Let us hope! I am kidding. He is actually very good, but he does have stretches of extreme fussiness. We didn't really experience that with E2, so this is a new one for us.

* Over the last week he has started to smile. You have to be quick to catch him. It is absolutely adorable. I can't wait until it becomes more of a habit! I have tried to catch it on camera, but the darn delay makes it impossible!

* He has also started to try to babble a little. This happens even less often than the smile, but is worth the wait. He really works up to it, then a big burst of "ga-ga" comes out real quick. What will I do when I have 3 chatterboxes? Go deaf I suppose!

* Matthew has had quite the tour of Nashville (or Bellevue at least!) Since he has me on the boobie leash, he goes out with me where ever I go. He is very easy going in the car and when I am running errands. We went to vote, get the flu shot, Target, grocery shopping, and we even took him Christmas shopping yesterday at Opry Mills. Now I see what it is like for most people after they have kids! We just holed ourselves up for winter after E2 were born. I didn't even want to think about how I would handle them both. And of course we were extra cautious due to their prematurity.

Mama & Daddy

* Eric is excited to go to the Vandy game this Saturday. I am excited for him too. He has earned a game! I am going to a movie on Sunday with my sister in law.....I can already taste the popcorn!!

* I go in for my 6 week check up on Tuesday and then I am off!! Big Kid lifting and sit ups here I come!! Well....at least the first part!

* This is also the last scheduled week I have for help from Nana or Mimi. Oh it has been so nice to have them! I am sure that I will still get lots of help when I need it, but it is time for me to give it a whirl on my own. I am pretty nervous about it, but I am sure we will survive. Someone once told me as long as they were all fed by the end of the day, I could count it as a success. We'll see......of course she has one child. And she never said anything about me eating!

Trick or Treat!!

2008-11-03T14:56:00.002-06:00

We had a fantastic Halloween this year. Ethan and Ella dressed like clowns....quite a stretch for them! Their Nana had made the costumes for Houston, Madeline and Elizabeth when they were the same age, so they worked perfect for them. Matthew just wore a Halloween sleeper that just about swallowed him whole.

Their cousins came over to go trick or treating with them too. The girls were rock stars and Houston was Iron Man. We just hit a few houses on our street, but it was a lot of fun. The kids weren't exactly sure what to think about all of it. They never said "Trick or Treat" even though we practiced it all week. But they did make me a very proud Mama when they said "Thank you" after they got their treats. Ethan also got a kick out of all the Jack O Laterns. As I have mentioned, he has an OBSESSION with candles. He made sure he pointed all the candles to all the neighbors.

I look forward to next year when they will get into Trick or Treating even more. Maybe I will have enough time and energy to come up with an original costume from the whole brood. Just Maybe.....

Big Kids!

2008-10-30T20:33:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update from the sleep deprived Greer Household : )

Matty G is a sneaky little booger. The first few nights he slept pretty long stretches, ate, and went straight back to sleep in his bed. Eric and I thought "This singleton full-term baby thing is CAKE!!!" It still doesn't hold a candle to the complete mayhem that followed Ethan and Ella's birth, but he is getting there! The last week he has discovered that getting fussy gets a lot of attention. And it he does it enough in the middle of the night then he earns a spot on Mommy or Daddy's chest to sleep on! Fortunately he is also absolutely adorable so it makes it a lot easier to deal with.

All the kids went to the doctor in the last week to get check ups. I wonder if we will ever have kids that are over the 20th percentile. Matthew is in the 5th percentile at 6 lb 10 oz. Ethan is in the 3rd at 22 lb 14 oz (oh yeah and his 2nd bday outfit is a 12 - 18 months!) And Ella is our over achiever in the 14th percentile at 23 lb 14 oz.

The kids are still doing remarkably well with the transition with Matthew. Ella loves her "Baby Matthew" or "Baby Goodness" as she calls him. We have to watch her a little close because sometimes she is too affectionate : ) Ethan still is just vaguely interested in him. I am sure once he starts moving around and being more interesting, then Ethan will be more interested in him!

We can't wait for Halloween tomorrow. We have been knocking on doors in the hallways and practicing all week! I will try to be more timely about updating with Trick or Treating pictures.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan and Ella!!!

2008-10-23T14:13:00.002-05:00

Last Friday we celebrated Ethan and Ella's 2nd Birthday. I can't believe my babies are getting to be such big kids! We had such a great time. Eric got home early from work so we could all play together. We had cake, played on the new swing set, and opened a couple of presents. Ethan got a Tonka Garbage Truck (one of his many obsessions) and Ella got a Abby Cradabby.

On Sunday we had a big family birthday party where Mimi & PaPa, Nana & Papa, and Uncle Jamie, Aunt Amy, & the crazy cousins came. We had such a good time celebrating with the family.

I changed the slide show on the side to show some of our favorite birthday pictures. Enjoy!

Off to try to relax for a minute at least..........

The Greer Three Ring Circus

2008-10-14T17:47:00.008-05:00

Well in the last 10 days, the Greers have become a Three Ring Circus literally! Luckily I am a fan of the circus and the chaos that reigns there. Here is a quick update on our circus troop......

Ethan, the eldest ring, is warming up to the idea of being a big brother. When he first came to the hospital to see us, he was more interested in the buttons on my bed than his baby brother. We weren't sure if he even noticed Matthew until he said "Bye Matthew" as he rolled out the door. It took him a couple of days, but he has started to pay more attention to him. This picture is how he likes to greet Matthew. (We are limiting the WWF air time in our house from now on!)

Ella is really taking to being Big Sister. She has really gotten into her dolls and playing like she is a little Mommy, so she is up for the task. She is also thoroughly enjoying all the baby stuff around. Of course she thinks it is all for her!

Matthew is adjusting to life outside the safe womb and into the Greer Family Circus well. He is a very good baby. He eats, sleeps, and poops like a good boy. He really had us fools the first few days when he slept 4 and 5 hour stretches at night. We thought that this was CAKE!! He has since remembered that he is a newborn and is waking up a little more frequently. We aren't complaining though. It is still so much easier this go round! I am really excited because we have been able to master nursing. I wasn't able to nurse Ethan or Ella since they were so weak from being premature, so it was something I really wanted to be able to do with Matthew. It has been really special to be able to bond with him this way. Not to mention WAY easier than messing with formula and bottles. Cheaper too!!

Eric enjoyed taking most of last week off to spend with us at the hospital and at home. He has had a big deadline at work, so I know it wasn't easy to do. Ethan and Ella have enjoyed having a little more daddy time. One disadvantage to my nursing is that he has to wait until after meal time to get to snuggle with Matthew. Although he hasn't really complained about the lack of snuggle time at 3 am : )

As the ringmaster of the Greer Family Circus, I am doing about as good as I can be! My recovery from the C Section has been better than expected. The first few days were tough and I was thankful for my extended hospital stay. Now I am off all my pain medication and am getting around pretty well. I am excited to get back my driving and light exercise priviliges next week.

Eric and I have been so thankful to our family for all of their help. They have been so generous with their time. Nana & Papa and Mimi & PaPa have taken turns giving Ethan and Ella some extra lovin. This has helped enormously with the huge transition in our family. They are going to keep helping regularly for the next month or so until I am completely recovered from the C Section. (I cannot lift them until 6 weeks post op) I figure/hope/pray that by then they will be comfortable with everything and it will make things a little easier. I do ask for your prayers though. I am a little anxious about making sure that I am making all my precious babies feel as special as they are.

Welcome Matthew (aka Peanut!)

2008-10-06T18:37:00.002-05:00

The day we have been waiting for all these months finally came yesterday. We finally got to meet our little Peanut!

On Sunday morning I woke up with what I thought was an upset stomach. I attributed it to the 2nd helping of Eric's yummy chili he made the night before. I struggled to get ready for church but was determined to go since I knew it was our last week to go as a family for a while. It wasn't until I was sitting in Sunday School that it hit me that maybe I was having really strong contractions and not an upset tummy! We rushed to get the kids when we were let out and hurried home. Mom and Dad came over to watch the kids while Eric and I headed to the hospital. It didn't take them long to determine that I was having strong contractions about 4 minutes apart.

By 3:12 I was in the OR and Matthew was born at 3:34. He was 6 pounds and 3 ounces of cutie patootie baby boy! He has lots of thick, curly brown hair. He loves to clasp his little hands together like he is praying. It is absolutely adorable : )

We appreciate all of your support and prayers all these months as we have been preparing for his arrival. I will post more soon. Right now I am going to eat my first real dinner!!

In one week.....

2008-10-02T06:55:00.002-05:00

In one week and roughly an hour we finally get to meet our baby boy! My C Section is scheduled for next Thursday at 7:30 am. We still simply cannot believe we are making it all the way to the end. I think the next week will be one of the longest in my life : )

We are going to focus the next week on getting ready for Peanut and enjoying our last days as a family of 4. I have asked Mimi and Papa to babysit on Friday night so Eric and I can go to dinner by ourselves for the last time in probably a few months. And I think a trip to the zoo is in order this weekend with the kids!

By the way......nearly 38 weeks now......running around after the kids......shhh even picking them up......walking about an hour each day.....eatin Mexican food.....and still not dilated a bit!

"Peanut" - The Self Fulfilling Nickname

2008-09-29T06:48:00.005-05:00

We started to call the baby "Peanut" pretty much immediately when we found out I was pregnant in February. Our original plan was to not find out the sex and I couldn't stand to think of us ever calling the baby "it." Well it seems that our little nickname is quite appropriate for our little guy!

When I went to the OB on Wednesday, the doctor measured my belly as she does every visit. I was still measuring the same I had for the last 3 weeks so she wanted us to have an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. Fortunately everything was fine. He is just a little tike! He is measuring about 5 lb 6 oz now. We were able to see that he has a lot of hair on his head too. It also confirmed again that the kid has abnormally large feet. Below is a picture of his chubby little toes : )

When Dr. Blake checked me, she found I still wasn't dilated at all. We have really been surprised by this. After all the restrictions, we never dreamed that I would be doing so well. I have started to wonder if all the restrictions were even that necessary. But it really doesn't matter. Peanut is healthy and that is all that matters!

Well I NEVER thought I would be here!

2008-09-19T06:59:00.003-05:00

September 19th, 2008. I am 36 weeks pregnant. Still at home. Going on week #2 of running around after 2 nearly 2 year olds pretty much on my own for the first time in 10 weeks. And not dilated ONE BIT!!

We joked that this would happen. After all the precautions we took, we would then make it all the way to a scheduled C-Section at 39 Long Weeks. Now without doubt, this is by far the best situation for Peanut. We are actually going to see what a nice, plump Non-NICU-livin baby is like! But I am not gonna lie. I am over being pregnant. I have felt every minute, hour, day of the last 36 weeks for sure! A little dilation.....just a fingertip....would be so satisfying : )

I took some things for granted with my last pregnancy. Who would think that there were positives to just being on bed rest for 12 weeks in the hospital?? Here are a few I can think of:

Rest: One of the comments I hated the most when I was in the hospital was "Enjoy your rest while you can! You won't get to when you have your twins!" I only heard that 10 times a day. Anyone who has been on bed rest in the hospital knows that is is anything but restful. You have people coming in and out of your room at all hours of the day and night. You have absolutely no privacy, so good luck getting any rest! That being said. I wouldn't mind a day in bed even if it meant having a person come in every hour to stick me, take my blood pressure, or stick a thermometer in my mouth!

Lack of Mirrors: The only mirror that I had in my hospital bathroom was a little one above the sink. Since I am so short I could only see from the neck up. In fact, the first time I saw my full body was in a dressing room a week after I had Ethan and Ella. The mirror in our bathroom seems like a funhouse mirror!

Lack of Movement: Since I was on bed rest, I didn't have to move around much. I pretty much laid down and got up occasionally to go to the bathroom and that was the extent of my activity. I never knew how hard it would be to drop something and have to bend over with a bowling ball sized belly to pick it up again. Or how it would be to try to sqeeze between the dining room chair and china cabinet and not be able fit. Hell I was in a handicapped room with nice wide doors. I could have gained 200 pounds and still fit everywhere!

Temperature Control: I never knew how true it was about it being absolutely awful to be pregnant in the heat of the summer. Granted I was last time too, but it was in the "comfort" of the hospital. I cranked the air down as low as it would go. Once I was put on mag, Eric brought his dorm fan to my room. I had that baby on high aimed right at my head until the babies were born. My poor visitors had to dress in layers to keep warm! Now I actually have to pay for my air conditioning bill, so sadly I can't set the thermostat on 60 degrees. And although I am happy I get more than a 15 minute wheelchair ride outside each week, it wasn't fun when it was 90 + degrees outside!

So here we go on another week. I have told Eric is is not allowed to tell me I can't do anything if I have made it this far without dilating. I am still another week away from starting to sprint around the block.....

One Last Honey-Do*

2008-09-14T13:29:00.004-05:00

This weekend Eric started to tackle my last big thing on his pre-Peanut Honey-Do List. Not really anything that big...... just to build the kids' birthday surprise.....a swing set! We thought that would be the perfect gift for them since they love to swing and slide. And with a newborn, going to the park may be something pretty tough for us to do. Going to the backyard, on the other hand, it right up our alley!

Yesterday Mimi and PaPa came over to have a work day and watch the VOLS play on TV. The kids really had fun trying to help Daddy and PaPa with the swing set. They got a lot done yesterday in spite of the heat and football breaks. Unfortunately it won't be done this week since Ike decided to come visit us today. Looks like we'll have another weekend of swing set building in our future!

*I reserve the right to reneg on this at any time I see fit.

Super Nester!

2008-09-09T07:01:00.006-05:00

After 67 weeks of pregnancy between Ethan, Ella, and Peanut one fact has become apparent. I stink at being pregnant. My doctor even says so! It may actually be written in my 5" thick file in her office. I mean come on....I spend half of the time on some type of bed rest. I have killed a small forest of trees with all my EOB's I get from the insurance company. It literally has taken the whole family to help with child care, house work, and to keep me in good supply of comfort food.

Well I have officially found one part of pregnancy that is meant for me. There is one phase of being pregnant that I absolutely ROCK at. It is made for an often described "anal-retentive" person. Yes - I am SUPER Nester!!!!

Saturday night I woke up at 4 am and couldn't go back to sleep. Suddenly it hit me. I don't have to stay in bed anymore!!!! So I got up and off to work I went. I worked on an art project for Peanut's room, surfed the net for Ethan and Ella's birthday presents, went through all of Ethan and Ella's fall clothes to see what they still need. When I went back to bed at 7, Eric asked what I did. I didn't get much of a reaction when I told him. When he got up and saw all the paint supplies, etc, he knew I wasn't joking and immediately came to tell me I was crazy. I told him that this was a clinical condition and he couldn't give me any grief! In the last few days I have finished Ella's baby book, planned Ethan and Ella's birthday party, shopped for their presents, reorganized cabinets & closets, and got stuff ready for our church consignment sale.

Ella decided to help Mommy when I was cleaning out her closet. At one point she had on her swimsuit, her new tennis shoes, and her favorite Monkey robe from her cousin Melissa! She was so proud of her style! Ethan didn't want to put anything on. In fact, he went through a "britches strike" most of yesterday. Good thing he has such a cute bootie : ) Of course when I pulled out the camera, he had to come over and saw "Cheese!"

I am so excited to be able to do all these little things that will help make our house ready for when Peanut comes home. Sure we would have been fine if the house was a wreck, but I am thankful that we don't have to. Now maybe I will feel like I can relax a little when we are all finally at home together......right ; )

Speaking of all of us being together. We had a good check up yesterday. I am 50% effaced, but I haven't dilated yet. Unfortunately we had a little scare with his heart again that landed me in the hospital for a couple of hours. Everything is ok. They were concerned because his heartrate was dropping and speeding up. They wanted to make sure he was getting enough oxygen and that there wasn't any cord compression. After monitoring me, they decided he was fine and sent me on my way. I have another appoitnment next Wednesday and feel confident that we can make it until then. I am officially done worrying about when Peanut is born. Of course every day we can keep him in my belly is better, but we are in a good place now. Now we are just ready to meet the little guy!

34 weeks YEE HAW!!!

2008-09-05T07:06:00.002-05:00

Today is the day I have been waiting for for a long, long TEN weeks!!!! I am 34 weeks today and off ALL RESTRICTIONS!!!!! Woo hoo!!! If it weren't raining here, I would go running around the block (Just kidding Mom don't worry. I don't have the energy for that....yet ; )

It has been a very long Summer. Every week going to the doctor and wondering if this was the week that I would go to the hospital. Thankfully God spared us from that!

Nana and Papa have taken Ethan and Ella for a couple of days to spend in Paris. I miss them desperately, but am taking advantage of the free time. I am almost done with Ella's baby book. Hopefully I can get it done before Peanut comes then I will be caught up.... on baby books at least!

Daddy School

2008-09-02T07:18:00.002-05:00

We just enjoyed a wonderful 4 day weekend with Daddy. Eric took Friday off too so he could help me a little with the kids. The kids are always excited to have more Daddy Time.

Daddy decided to make the most of his time with the kids and spread some of his infinite wisdom. Eric has a wealth of....how shall I say.....interesting knowledge. He can spout off football players, positions, stats, scores from 30 years ago. He can tell you the every single minute detail about every Tennessee VOL game he has attended or watched. We focused a good deal of our opening weekend teaching the kids some key phrases. They mastered "Go Vols," "Touchdown," and "Go Big Orange." Yellow has officially been replaced as Ethan's favorite color by big Orange. Unfortunately, all our cheers couldn't bring us a victory, but we are sure we will be ready to do it again next game.

Another thing Eric worked with Ella on one night was the bones in the body. This knowledge most likely stems from Eric having broken, sprained or bruised most of his. They had a very good time when he quizzed her about where her metacarpals, femur, and and phalanges were. She laughed and thought it was one of his most fun games yet. Maybe she will do something useful with this knowledge and become a doctor instead of an accountant......

ps...I added more pics from last month to the slideshow below : )

John 1:16

2008-08-26T06:48:00.007-05:00

Yesterday morning as I was going through my normal doctor morning routine, I read my daily Bible verse.

"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one BLESSING after another."

Wow. How fitting is that for the Greer family? A family that started out struggling and wondering if we could ever have kids. Then we were blessed with 2 wonderful children 2 years ago. Out of the blue this year, we found that God was going to bless us once again with another child. Sure we had A LOT of struggles and trials during that time, but I have found that they too have been blessings to us. I decided then that there wasn't a more fitting verse for us to put on Peanut's Birth Announcement.

I decided to be safe and once again pack a bag for the hospital. Eric likes to make fun of me and says I mentally put myself in the hospital before each doctor's appointment. I am not a negative person, I just appreciate that there is always the chance so better for me to be prepared! I have to make sure for my peace of mind that I have arrangements for Ethan and Ella mapped out. And for my comfort, I make sure I have my pillow and toothbrush!

Well blessing number 595 for the Greer family came at my ultrasound. My cervix was actually in better shape than it was a month ago! I was shocked. I mean I am further along, I have been a little more active, I have started to feel some contractions, so I was completely compared for the worst. So I am now 10 days away from being NORMAL! At 34 weeks, I am off all restrictions. No more modified bed rest. I go back to the doctor on Sept 8th. By then I will be 34 weeks and they will check me for dialation. If I am, then they will do the C Section immediately. So I guess I will continue to pack my bags before my visits, but I will get to pack one for Peanut too!

As I write about our many blessings, 2 very dear people are heavy on my heart. They are going through great struggles now too and may be having a hard time seeing blessings now. My Uncle Lynn is in the ICU in Amarillo, Texas fighting to get his diabetes and liver disease under control. My best friend, Jodi, suffered from a devestating miscarriage yesterday morning and is trying to deal with her grief. I ask that you please keep them both and all of their families in your prayers. I pray that God helps us all perservere through our trials so we can see all our blessings He has given us.

Best Buddies

2008-08-24T06:36:00.006-05:00

It is almost as if Ethan and Ella know there is about to be an invasion of the Greer household. Over the last couple of weeks, they have started to stick together more and more. Before that they used to play mostly side by side and not playing as much together.

Now they are thick as theives. If Ella is reading a book, Ethan wants to read the book. Ethan is building a barn, Ella wants to go check it out. When Ella is sitting in her "big girl" chair, then Ethan has to go sit right on her lap. If Ella is on my lap, then Ethan will try to chimmy his way on there too. It is getting pretty crowded nowadays! And the chasing.....oh they can run circles around the kitchen forever! It really is quite cute. There are only some times where it gives me cause for concern. #1 - I have had to break up more fights. #2 - They out number me together. #3 - How are they going to turn on me when the baby comes home? : )

My only saving grace is that they are not the slickest of kids when they are naughty. In fact, they are not slick at all. They are really good at telling on themselves. As they are doing something wrong, they shakes tjheir head and say "No! No! No!" until I come and do the same. Ethan always has a huge smile with that adorable dimple on his face as he does it! Sometimes Ethan will just be really quite. Then I know that he is into something he isn't supposed to be. That generally means he has found a phone or remote and is off in a corner playing with it. When I come up behind him I can usually hear him whispering "No No No."

Eric, Peanut and I are doing really well. Last weekend Nana and Papa took the kids for the weekend. It was a special treat for them to be spoiled by grandparents all weekend. It was a special treat for Eric and I to have a weekend to ourselves too! We did a lot of relaxing and Eric put a heck of a dent in his "Honey Do List." Peanut's room is finished. We did the rest of the shopping for him so we are set. That was a real treat for me. Since I was hospitalized so early with Ethan and Ella, I didn't get the opportunity to be a part of a lot of the preparation. I thoroughly enjoyed it this time!

I have my next doctor appointment and ultrasound tomorrow. I will be 32 weeks and 3 days. I am not entirely sure what to expect. I haven't had an ultrasound in 4 weeks which is some sort of a record for me. This is the first time I have no clue what the old cervix is up to - or down to for that matter! I am further along so I don't pretend to think that it is not low. So I guess the question will be how low will be too low for the doctors. Worst case scenario would be that they throw me in the hospital. But my doc has already told me she wouldn't keep me past 34 weeks, so I can handle that. Heck - I can stand on my head for 10 days after what we have been through! Best case scenario would be that all is the same and we carry on as normal. Hopefully if we are anywhere in between there, they will let me make some more changes at home (is - complete bedrest here until 34 weeks) At any rate, here is my weekly request for prayers please : ) We are so thankful that God has blessed us so greatly so far.

A House Full of Crazies

2008-08-16T07:07:00.005-05:00

As you can guess since I am posting this now, I am still chugging along at home.....albeit at a snails pace! We had a good report this week. I took the fFE test for the last time (the one that tests for Pre Term Labor). After an agonizing 24 hour wait, we found out I passed. Hooray! That was the last big obstacle for us to overcome to keep me out of the hospital and off complete bed rest for an extended period. My doctor told me that after I hit 34 weeks, they will not hospitalize me, drug me or put me on complete bed rest (only 2 weeks and 6 days to go). I still have an appointment next Monday so there is the possibility they decide to put me in then. That would only be for about a week and a half. I can stand on my head for a week and half if it means keeping Peanut healthy and in my belly a little while longer. We are just so so so so grateful that I haven't had to be separated from Ethan and Ella.

Speaking of them. They provide me with constant entertainment. I hardly realize that I rarely get to leave the house. They are absolutely CRAZY and I love it! Ella is an absolute chatterbox. I like to call her my little cheerleader. She is very upbeat and always is cheering everyone on. Yea Buddy. Yea Mommy. Yea Daddy. Yea Majors. All followed by thunderous applause. She also has endless energy. She can run and run in circles for hours. I think I may just follow her around after I have Peanut to help me loose the baby weight! She loves to be chased. Ethan is finally catching on to what he is supposed to do when she starts running, giggling, and looking back at him.

Ethan is on cloud 9 here lately. We got him some new tennis shoes that have lights on them. He thinks he is one cool dude. He loves to just stamp his feet all over the house and watch the lights. The kids is OBSESSED with lights. He looks for them and points them out in every room he goes into. He has a number of little obsessions......candles, the sun, the moon, the mailman, the garbage truck, the color yellow, Elmo, and of course glasses. He talks almost as much as Ella. 95% of his conversations revolve around those little obsessions. Much to Daddy's chagrin, the kids have decided to trade sunglasses.

Counting our blessings and weeks

2008-08-06T06:19:00.004-05:00

If you had told me 6 weeks ago that I would be nearly 30 weeks pregnant and still be at home I would have been shocked. But here we are! I will be 30 weeks on Friday and am only on modified bed rest at home. YIPPEE!!!

Yesterday I went through my normal Tuesday morning routine before my doctor's appointment. I spent a little extra time getting ready just in case. I put on waterproof mascara just in case. I packed my overnight bag for the hospital just in case. Apparently my preparedness is a good omen for me because I was sent home again!

God has blessed us so greatly over the last few weeks. We went from concerns over me having an extended hospital stay and being away from the kids and of having another Preemie to wondering how close we may make it to full term! I am convinced it is due to the enormous amounts of prayers we have had. The changes that we made at home have definitely helped us too. We are eternally grateful to Mimi and Nana for the days they have come over to help so I can lay down and rest. Boy are the kids going to be disappointed when it is just boring old Mama here. Maybe the addition of a new baby brother will help soften the blow : )

Edited to Add: Sorry about the lack of pictures this post. We have been rather snotty this week, so we didn't take any pictures. Enjoy the new slideshow below though! I will update it each month with all my favorites from the previous month.

Our son....the sailor.....

2008-07-27T17:24:00.002-05:00

Hours after my last post, the terrible twos hit the Greer household : ) Papa and I experienced our first full blown temper tantrum from my dear, sweet little boy. I am not sure what set him off, but he was MAD. I am talking crying, screaming and kicking his legs all while he stood on his head. It would have been pretty entertaining if I were not Mommy and didn't have to worry about what happens if this becomes a habit! Thank goodness that has been the only one. I am crossing my fingers that it was just a one off. Pretty Pretty Please!!!

Ethan also picked up another habit that I am hoping doesn't stick around. On Wednesday night at dinner, he dropped the F Bomb. Yes....that one. When it came out of his mouth, Eric, Nana, and I just stared at him dumbfounded. "Did he just say what I think he said??" I assure you he has never heard that in this house or any house he has gone to. I was hoping it was another one off, but he quickly said it 3 or 4 times the next morning when we got him out of bed. Finally at lunch we figured out what he was trying to say - Frog or Fork. Apparently he is still honing his fine Tennessee accent! We have been working really hard on his pronunciation of frog and fork. When we dropped him off at the church nursery, I did a quick scan for any frogs or forks just in case ; ) We weren't kicked out of church, so I am guessing he kept his little sailor mouth in check. Whew!

Summer Fun

2008-07-21T06:54:00.006-05:00

I realize with all our drama, it has been a while since I have given just an update on Ethan and Ella. They are doing so great. They love Summer and all the activities that go along with it. They love to go "side" and play. Ella could run around all day in the backyard....literally. She never slows down! Ethan, on the other hand, will run around for a bit, then likes to go sit in his rocking chair and chill. After dinner last week, Eric and I took them to go swing for a little bit. That has to be their absolute favorite activity. I wish I could still take them on walks and do it every day. Next year we will look into putting a swingset in the backyard.

This has to be my favorite age yet. Yes they are getting close to the dreaded "terrible twos," but along with the stubborness has come such amazing little personalities. Ella is so full of love. She give nice hugs and sweet little kisses that can put a smile on anyone's face. She still loves to read. She has also gotten into playing with her baby doll. She is already quite the little Mommy. I think she will want to help a lot when Peanut comes along. Of course that will be after she gets over the initial shock and anger of yet another child that will take the spotlight from her a bit!

Ethan is such a sweet little boy. He is a little more stingy with his smooches, but he loves to snuggle. My favorite part of the day is when he wakes up and like to cuddle in the rocking chair for a little bit while he wakes up. He is like a little monkey wrapped around me. Ethan has really gotten into playing with blocks now. He really likes anything that you have to put together. And the more meticulous the better for him! Maybe we have a future engineer on our hands.

They both are extremely verbal. I have quit keeping track of their words because they have so many. Ella is a little parrot. She will say just about anything you ask her too. Her favorite phrases now are "Oh no! My gosh!" and "I get it" (which really means you get it for me!) Ethan has really caught up to Ella. That is really saying a lot! He doesn't speak in sentences or phrases as much as Ella, but he has close to as many words. His favorites are Elmo, Oscar, Car, Choo Choo, and of course Block.

They have been so easy going about everything going on the past few weeks. I guess all they know is that they get to see their Nana & Papa and Mimi and Pa Pa more often. More love and attention for them, so all the better! We are so fortunate that our moms have been able and willing to come and help so much. We are just so thankful for each day that we have been able to all stay at home together : )

Up and down and Up again!

2008-07-16T06:38:00.002-05:00

The last week has been a long one. Since my cervix shortened again last week, I was all but convinced that the same would happen again this week. There were a couple of sleeplessness nights as I sat up and thought about being away from Ethan and Ella. One night I even got up and wrote out the various lists I had running through my head.....their daily schedule, what they eat, groceries we have on hand, and of course my hospital packing list. It made me feel better to at least be prepared for the worst.

Yesterday mom (aka Mimi) came over to go to the doctor and Ultrasound with me. She was really excited because she had never been to an Ultrasound before. After going back and forth, I finally decided to pack an overnight bag for the hospital. Well apparently the combination of Mimi and an overnight bag brought us good luck. Peanut looked great and my cervix actually lengthened 5 mm! I am almost back in the normal range! We are thrilled. We are going to just keep doing what we have been doing and hopefully we can just keep buying time. For the first time, I think there may be a chance we can avoid the hospital or at least maybe it won't be a long stay. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. They are definitely what have gotten us through this so far. Keep em coming please. I am almost 27 weeks, so we need another 10 weeks or so : )

Another week bites the dust!

2008-07-09T06:47:00.003-05:00

Operation STAY AT HOME Mom was a success for another week. Yesterday I had my Ultrasound, cervix check, and OB visit for Baby Peanut. The good news is that Peanut looked GREAT! According to the U/S tech, he had a "beautiful" heart. She did see some speeding up and slowing down, but no irregular beats and nothing structurally wrong. He was such a good little boy during the scan. He posed just the way she needed to in order to get all the angles to do her analysis. We also learned something new about our precious baby. Apparently he has freakishly large feet : ) Considering I am a 5 and a half and Eric is an 11, that is pretty funny. Where did the clown feet come from? The U/S tech continually made reference to how big they are and kept going back to them. They are already measuring 5 cm long. Looking at my ruler now it doesn't look that big, but I guess he also is supposed to be baking for another 3 months!

Which brings me to the not so good part of the visit. Unfortunately, despite the changes we have made around home, my cervix is still continuing to shorten. I am not at the point where they will order bed rest or put me in the hospital yet. It is pretty unnerving because it could happen at any time. We are very thankful though that I have had the last couple of weeks to get mentally prepared and get things in order around the house for when it happens. I will continue to go to the doctor and High Risk place for ultrasounds each week to be checked. They will also give me a test called fFE test that tests for me going into Preterm Labor. If I ever test positive for that, then that earns me a "Get into Centennial" pass immediately. This time they will administer steroids immediately to help Baby Peanut's lungs mature. We are a bit disheartened at the idea of having another premature baby. We are so thankful our experience with Ethan and Ella ended so well but also appreciate that isn't always a guarantee. We were so looking forward to seeing what a "normal" delivery would be like. Getting to see your baby before they are 24 hours old....getting to hold your baby before they are a few days old....getting to hold your baby more than a few minutes a day...getting to take your baby home with you when you leave the hospital. Oh I am tired just thinking about it. We will pray for the best and hopefully Peanut will wait as long as possible before he makes his entrance into this world. Every day in my belly is 3 days less in the NICU!

Happy 4th of July!!

2008-07-05T21:19:00.003-05:00

We had a great 4th of July. It was pretty low key. We just grilled some hamburgers and hot dogs with Mimi and Papa. We hadn't seen them in a couple of weeks because they were traveling in Texas. Ethan and Ella were anxious to catch up on their Muchos Smooches from them!

It was a late night. We let them eat cupcakes at the time they generally are turning in for the night. Then we headed out back to watch the free fireworks from the neighbors. Ethan wasn't at all interested in anything but laying his head on Mimi's shoulder. Ella, on the other hand, said "WOW!! WOW!!" to just about every one she saw. I was afraid she might think this is what goes on every night after they go to bed and revolt tonight : )

Operation: STAY AT HOME Mom!!

2008-07-02T15:10:00.003-05:00

So in the last week since our scare at the ultrasound, we have implemented Operation STAY AT HOME mom. We have made some pretty big changes in the Greer Household to try to keep me at home and off bed rest for as long as possible.

As much as I thought I had cut out, we found there was a lot more we could do. I have quit carrying the kids around as much as I used to and I rarely pick them both up at the same time. But as any mommy of toddlers know, you still do it a lot. Well no more. I have just about cut it out completely. It has been tough. Especially since Ella is a little monkey and will literally climb up my legs. I can tell that change has made a big difference because my back pain has all but disappeared. I have also quit bending over and picking up things so much. One of the nurses told me that was one of the worst things I can do. I do that constantly throughout the day! I have tried to cut that out too. That has been even more tough. Eric got me this funny contraption for me to pick up things without bending over that old people use. I call it the "Claw." As much as I made fun of it, it really has been very handy. I was able to pick up 3 big mixing bowls at once with it! I used to also take the babies on a couple mile walk a few times a week. I really miss this. They really enjoyed it and it was great exercise for me. I guess we will just pick that back up in October! The other main change we made was me laying down when the babies take their naps. That is usually when I fly around trying to get other things done. Now I lay them down and go and lay down in bed too. I have to admit, this has been pretty nice.

We are so fortunate we have such a wonderful family. Nana (Eric's mom) pretty much spent most of the last 2 weeks here helping as Eric and Ethan healed and I tried to take it easy. Next week, Mimi and Papa will be back in town, so I am sure they will be able to help too. We are all going to be so spoiled before Peanut comes!

All of the adjustments have been worth it. My ultrasound yesterday was a good one. Peanut's heart looks good. And my cervix hasn't gotten any shorter which we count as a good report. Hopefully, if we keep it up, then we can push off bed rest for a long time or (knock on wood) permanently. Thank you all for your offers for help and mostly for your prayers!

Popscicle Therapy

2008-06-29T06:27:00.003-05:00

In honor of our first day with no hospital visits from any Greer's, we had our crazy cousins over to play after naptime. We thought after they ran around and got good and hot, we could have some Popscicle therapy. I mean seriously....it isn't natural for a kid to not like popscicles! Well popsicles were enjoyed by everyone but Ethan and Ella.

Yesterday it was rainy, so we went to our old stand by playtime. Cabinets! I think my mom has a picture of me playing in our kitchen cabinets when I was there age. I don't know why we even bother buying toys. A cabinet, mixing bowl, and a wooden spoon are all they need!

TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-27T05:54:00.002-05:00

Thank GOD it is Friday! I have never meant those words so much. We have just been through the week from you-know-where. Never fear though. In true Greer fashion, it has a happy ending : )

Sunday
I am working in the church nursery for the 8:30 service, so I leave the kids for Eric to get ready for church. He calls me barely 10 minutes after I have left barely able to speak telling me I have to get home ASAP. He is in pain and can't take care of the kids. When I get home, I find him doubled over in pain and the kids going crazy. I was so worried about Eric because he has such a high pain tolerance and he was obviously in a huge amount of pain. I mean this is a man who has broken several bones, set a few himself and will wait a day or 2 to go to the hospital if it interfered with a UT game. Mom and Dad rushed over and we took him to the ER. After 3 different pain killers, a CT scan, a wacky Australian nurse, and 2 hours later we found out it was a kidney stone. Thank goodness there was only one and it wasn't too terribly big. It is amazing how a 3 mm kidney stone can inflict so much pain on a grown man. We took our doped up patient home to pass it there. Mom and Dad were so kind to take the kids to their house for the next couple of days while I cared for Eric. I was really worried that I would have to take him back to the ER to get another pain shot since he was so resistant to the meds. Thankfully, he rested comfortably the rest of the day.

Monday
Most of the day was pretty low key. I am sure Eric was annoyed with me asking him "What is your pain number??" "Do you need more water?" "Anything come out that time?" Finally late afternoon, I decided to leave him alone a couple of hours and take advantage of the kid-free time. Little did I know when I was cleaning the upstairs, his pain meds wore off. When I came downstairs, he was curled up in a ball : ( He went for a few hours in a lot of pain. It was awful. We went back and forth about going back to the ER. Finally after his 2nd dose of his pain meds, he got some relief.

Tuesday
What is your pain #???? Eric is feeling better!! We think he may have passed it in the middle of the night, but we aren't sure. Eric decides to go ahead and still stay home just in case. The pain hits him so suddenly and so strong that I don't want him to risk driving to work. Besides, I have my weekly ultrasound today and he can see Peanut! Little did we know how much God was watching out for us when he allowed Eric to come with me to that appointment.

Peanut's heart looked great. It was back in rhythm and had a nice, strong beat. The tech told us that in can go in and out of rhythm, but that it was a good sign that it was in rhythm today. Next they did my cervix check to see how I was doing there. And here is where Tuesday's drama begins. It shortened nearly 10 mm in less than a week.....2mm away from where I was admitted to the hospital with Ethan and Ella's pregnancy. We were devastated. I knew this was a possibility, but not this early! Immediately my mind started racing......will I have to go on bed rest? When will I have to go to the hospital? How will we get childcare for the rest of my pregnancy?? OMG....I won't get to see my kids. Another preemie? Please no!!!! That poor tech. She just kept apologizing and giving tissues. I was so glad Eric was there with me. He reassured me that we would work everything out. Thank God Nana is here for the next couple of days to give us a hand with the kids!

Wednesday
Dr Blake called me first thing to discuss my ultrasound and our next steps. She wanted me to go to the hospital to monitor for contractions. I told her I couldn't today, but I would first thing Thursday. Today I had very important business to attend to - Ethan's surgery!

Since Ethan was having surgery around 3 pm, he couldn't eat anything after 8. I got him up and made him a big breakfast with waffles and bacon. It was good he ate a good breakfast because he wanted nothing to do with this so called clear diet. The kid has texture issues, so he had no interest in Popsicles and jello!

We were so proud of Ethan. He was such a brave boy. He sat in his bed before the surgery and just played with the toys they brought him. He flirted and made faces with the nurses. And when it was time to go back to the OR, he let a nurse walk him back with no tears. The surgery was a success. Dr Thomas said that it was a good thing we brought him in because his hernia on the right side was HUGE and there was also on on the left side that he repaired. He also mentioned a couple of times what a funny little guy we have. Who knows what in the world that weirdo was doing!

When we went back to recovery he looked so pitiful. Wrapped up in a warm blanket in nothing but a diaper, an IV and monitors hooked up to him. Ethan took his time waking up and when he did he was not happy. He wasn't in pain because they gave him an epidural like pain blocker. He was just POed. He didn't know where he was and everyone was trying to get him to wake up and drink some juice. Finally the nurse let us go home. He perked up as soon as he saw his sissy and drank his whole cup of juice.

I have to thank my good friend, Christy. She works at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and she made sure we had the best of the best attending to us every step of the way. She came and sat with us part of the time while we were waiting. It was a good distraction!

Thursday
Ethan slept relatively well. Part of the night was spent with Daddy on the couch. When he woke up, he was good as new. They told us he would be back to normal the next day and they were not lying! He was playing and acting goofy all day.

I went to the hospital early so I could hopefully get in and out. I wasn't expecting any big improvements because I hadn't had much time to be off my feet. But God did give me a sense of peace and I knew at least that I was coming home that day.

I was immediately put in a room (ironically across the hall from my 1st room last time) They monitored me for contractions - NONE!! Measured my cervix - No change which is better than getting shorter. And gave me a fFE test. This is a test that looks for a protein that can predict if you are going to go into labor within 2 weeks. That came back NEGATIVE! So I was so relieved. I talked to my doctor and my orders are to slow way down. No more long walks with the kids, no more picking them up when I don't absolutely have to, no more running around and I actually have orders to lay down when they take a nap and not clean the house! Not too bad, huh? We are so thankful!

I think this was just a wake up call telling me I need to chill. I really have thought I have been taking it easy, but there is still a lot more I can cut out and obviously have to. We are so lucky we have such a great family that is close that I know will help us as much as they can. This weekend we are going to come up with a game plan on how we can make this work for a long as possible. We know that bed rest is probably in my future. And that a hospital stay is probably there too. But if we can put that off as long as possible, then hopefully it will be a short stay and Peanut will be a full term baby!

Friday
Today is our drama free day. It may be a little early to declare this since it isn't even 7 am and the kids are still sleeping, but I am determined to make it that way!

Ethan and Peanut need a few prayers please : )

2008-06-19T07:19:00.003-05:00

A few months ago we noticed a little bulge by Ethan's wee wee after his bath. It went away quickly to our relief. After seeing it off and on for a couple of months, we took him into the pediatrician. Just like at a mechanic, there were no signs of it when we took him in. Thank God our pediatrician knows we aren't over-reacters, are in tune with our kids and took us seriously. He referred us to a pediatric Urologist at Vanderbilt Children's for a consultation. At that appointment, we determined that he definitely has a hernia on one side and could possibly have one on the other that we just can feel yet. We were given the option to either wait until it get bigger and have surgery or to go ahead and have it now. Since it can get to be painful as it grows, we decided to go ahead and have it done.

So on Wednesday the 25th, our precious little boy is have surgery! We actually are quite comfortable with the procedure. Our nephew, Houston, had it a few years back also. It will be an outpatient procedure and should only last about an hour. I don't want to minimize it because of course there are always risks especially when you have anesthesia. So if you could offer a few prayers on Wednesday for him and his nervous parents in the waiting room, I would appreciate it.

********

Yesterday was a very long day for our family. I had my "routine" OB visit. It was supposed to be on Tuesday, but my doctor was called into delivery so we rescheduled. Since we didn't have childcare lined up, we just had Eric stay home with the kids. Hey just an hour or so....he can be Mr Mom. It turned out being all morning, but he did great!

When Dr Blake put the doppler on my belly, we found out that Peanut has an irregular heartbeat. She decided to send me to the High Risk OBs for an ultrasound and an Echocardiogram if they felt it necessary. So much for my "normal" pregnancy! It was pretty unnerving sitting in the waiting room by myself trying to push the "what ifs" out of my head. Thankfully after the Ultrasound, Echocardiogram, and a lengthy conversation with the High Risk OB, God gave me some peace of mind. Peanut has Premature Atrial Contractions, but the good news is that structurally everything looks to be good now. They are going to continue doing weekly Ultrasounds and Echocardiograms to monitor the growth and development of the heart. There is a 95% chance that this will resolve itself before Peanut is born or very soon after delivery. It seems as though if there is a problem to have, this is a pretty manageable one.

I had a lot of time to think yesterday as I waited and waited. I had already started the day a little anxious. I have started to worry more about going into preterm labor again. I was all prepared to talk to Dr Blake about this at my appointment. With the scare, we barely even got into that. I really think my anxiety about PTL and the heart scare is just Satan trying to get in our way. God gave Eric and I a huge blessing with Peanut. I feel that Peanut is a little gift from God after all of the stress and heartache we went through with Ethan and Ella's pregnancy. This is just Satan trying to take away from our JOY that God has given us. Well we aren't going to let him. We are only focusing on the positive. I get to see Peanut each week during the ultrasound. Since they are doing the ultrasound already, they are going to monitor my cervix length so that will help ease my anxiety about the preterm labor. Please keep Peanut in your prayers that he/she thrives and that the defect resolves on its own. Also keep Eric and I in your prayers that we keep our heads on straight.

Big Kid Rooms!

2008-06-16T07:21:00.007-05:00

Another exciting week at the Greer household. We took a major step on Wednesday when we put Ethan and Ella in their Big Boy and Big Girl rooms. They are still in their cribs, but they are now in their very own rooms across the hall from each other. The transition has been flawless thankfully! I have had they sleeping in seperate rooms at nap time for the last few months so I think that has helped. It is so sweet in the morning they can't wait to see each other. Their faces light up and they run to each other crying "Sissy Sissy!" and "Diddy! Diddy" (Buddy : ) I am so glad it has gone so well. It was important for us to get each of the kids in their own rooms before Peanut comes home. That way we can hopefully avoid having 2 or 3 babies awake in the middle of the night if possible. Ethan and Ella sleep through the night about 98% of the time, but that 2% will be really tough when we have Peanut!

Their development over the last few months has been amazing. I remember reading that the number of words a toddler learns from 18 - 24 months is staggering. Well Ella is case and point for that. She is a little parrot. She hears a word, she says it and she remembers it. Oh oh - we better be on our best behavior now! One of her favorite words now is happy. She says it with the hugest smile on your face and it can't help but make you happy too! She also has started putting together 2 and 3 words. We are so proud of our smart girl!

Ethan is quite vocal too. Not as much as Ella, but still is talking a lot. He is our future little engineer. He loves to sit and play with a toy (or anything else) and figure out how it works. Unfortunatly, it also makes baby proofing a little more challenging. How, for instance, do you baby proof your air conditioner vent that he has learned out to open to get to the filter??? I mean I had to call Amy to find out how to do that?? I tell you he is an absolute genius! He also loves to play with his blocks and legos to build things. We are pleased that he is starting to gravitate to more "manly" activities, but he still loves to carry around Mommy's gold sequin purse : )

One of Ethan and Ella's favorite past times is dancing. I have to get a video of it because it really is one of the funniest things you will ever see. They stamp their feet, wiggle their booties, flap their arms and laugh hysterically. Not sure where they got their dancing skills, but I am glad that they enjoy it. They are also really enjoying the warm weather. They love to go "side" and blow bubbles. Ethan has conquered his fear of the grass so our fears of him not being able to play ball have been eased. Ella loves to just run in circles in the grass barefoot. The girl has no fear and her poor little legs have the bruises and scratches to prove it. Don't be surprised if you see her and the first things she asks for is a kiss for her boo-boo.

We had a great Father's Day with Eric. He got his day off from his long "Honey-Do List" and went to relax at the pool. Later we went to eat and did a little Targeting. The kids got him some a Jacck Bauer t-shirt and some good clothes for fishing. Hopefully he can make a couple of trips back home to fish before the end of the summer. We went last weekend and he and his dad had a great time.

I am doing well. I feel pretty good. I have been trying to go on regular walks with the kids to try to stay somewhat in shape. I really took little things like walking for granted last go round, so not this time! By the end of the day I am pretty beat and am ready for a good ole soak in the tub. I have an appointment with the OB tomorrow and am excited about that. Any day I can hear Peanut's heartbeat is a good one for me! I also want to discuss a test I have read about that can help predict if you will go into pre-term labor in the next 2 weeks. I need to have a good conversation with her about the likelyhood of me going into pre-term labor again to help put my mind at ease. I feel pretty good about things. But you don't go through 3 months of bedrest in the hospital and it not enter your mind. Especially if you have 2 adorable kids that you have to take care of each day! But by 22 weeks last time I had been on bedrest for 3 weeks and in the hospital for 2. Our daily conversations were about getting me another couple of weeks so that Ethan and Ella were viable. Pretty scary and I praise God that we are not in that boat this go round! So here is my shameless plug for prayers from friends and family. Please just keep me and Peanut in your prayers so that we have a nice, smooth pregnancy. ( By the way, my Ella just said "Jesus" if that doesn't help I don't know what will!! ; )

Our First Beach Trip - Myrtle Beach 2008

2008-06-06T06:47:00.008-05:00

We weren't going to go on a family vacation this year. . . . a lot going on with a baby on the way and all. God knew we needed a break though, so he had a nice lady from the Marriott call us with a great deal on a 4 day/3 night package to Myrtle Beach. It didn't take much of an arm twist for us to book the trip!

It wasn't an ideal trip, but we will look back on it with fondness.....someday. First of all, we underestimated the 10 hour drive. How short our memory is from our trip to Texas. Our kids (namely Ethan) just don't travel well. Unlike most kids, they don't sleep in the car for more than a few minutes ALL DAY! To top that off, we were all sick. Nothing like a good old fashioned summer cold times four for your beach trip! And sadly, 3 out of the 4 could have nothing but Tylenol for relief : )

Another thing we underestimated was the unpredictability of Spring. One week could be 90 and the next could be 60. One guess what it was when we were there! Actually, it warmed up enough for us to get out a little bit and have some fun in the sun. The main problem was the wind and the water temperature. On Tuesday morning, we went to the Aquarium while it was still pretty chilly. That was a lot of fun. The kids absolutely loved looking at the fishys.

When we went to the beach, I was pretty impressed with how the kids reacted. They both went right up to the water to check it out. It only took a little to touch Ethan's toe for him to head for the hills and Ella to climb up my legs. As long as they had a hold of us though, they were fine. I was surprised that the sand didn't bother them a bit. Hopefully, they don't have my issues with sand as they grow up.

Ethan really liked sitting in his float at the pool. He has got chillin down pat. Ella warmed up to it, but she would much rather be in Mommy or Daddy's arms. It was pretty funny at the pool. When we got out one day, she kept turning around and checking the water to make sure it wasn't coming after her. I guess she remembered the surf from the beach!

All in all, it was a pretty good trip. It was a long drive for a short stay, but it was a nice change of pace for a little bit. In fact, we are already thinking about another trip next year with Peanut.

When we were on the way home, we were just ready to get there. This last picture was off the kids in their booster seats eating at a Rest Area in our seats. Oh did they think they were cool. By the way....we are still finding sand and Goldfish everywhere in the GMV!

One healthy Peanut : )

2008-05-23T14:58:00.009-05:00

I have been lucky that I have been blessed with a number of things that often we just expect to happen in life. I like to call them "Gimmes." Meet my Prince Charming, fall in love, and get married. Check. Have a happy marriage (with a little work) Check. Have a Family - - - a long, hard road but a big CHECK! And to be blessed with healthy children. Check! We are so thankful that we found out yesterday that we received another blessing. A healthy baby growing in my belly. We are so thankful that God has been watching over Peanut the last 20 weeks and know that He will for the rest of his/her life. Again something that many people take for granted as a gimme, but we know it is not. Really the only Gimme that we have in this life is God's Love. Ironically, it was when I discovered that having a child wasn't a gimme for us that I felt God's love the most.

Peanut was quite the acrobat during the ultrasound. It took a little concentration from our chatty Ultrasound tech to keep the wand where she needed to measure. With a little work, we got to see the 4 chambers of the heart, the brain, and many other organs. Of course we didn't know what in the world we were looking at!

I have to give Eric and I a big HUGE pat on the back. We stayed strong and didn't find out the sex of the baby! And believe me, we had plenty of chances to take a peek and see. I even have a picture of the baby's "parts" in a sealed envelope. I plan on getting Eric to put it under a heavy piece of furniture for safe keeping for the next 17 - 18 weeks or so ; ) By the way---------------->
those are Peanut's totsies. 10 toes!

I have been reminded that I have yet to do our vacation post. Sadly, someone left our USB cord to our digital camera somewhere between here, South Carolina, and Missouri. So it will be another week or so until I get the new one I ordered. Then I will download our oh-so-cute pictures and give a full update. Here is a preview though......Biker Week in Mytle Beach.....60 degree weather.....high wind advisory.....fevers......lots of snots.....and some dancing to Jimmy Buffett. Don't you wish you were there? : )

Goodbye Uncle Gary......

2008-05-21T07:17:00.004-05:00

On the morning of Monday, May 12th our family lost my Uncle Gary. Uncle Gary fought a long hard battle with Melanoma for the last few years. We are so saddened that he is no longer with us, but are glad that he his no longer suffering.

The whole family traveled to Jackson, MO this weekend for his memorial on Saturday. The service was beautiful. There was a lot of tears but also a lot of laughter....very fitting for a man like him. Kara and Clint put together a wonderful slide show of pictures of his life set to music. It was nice to see his beautiful smile over and over again. Like the pastor said at the end, we didn't "lose" Uncle Gary because we know where he is. He is with our Heavenly Father, and I know that beautiful smile is shining down on us.

Please keep my family in your prayers as we grieve for this wonderful man.

Chaos! Chaos Everywhere!!

2008-05-08T14:12:00.006-05:00

Well the only word to describe the last couple of weeks is absolute chaos! At the beginning of April we decided to take our house off the market and do some renovations to our house. My old home office just needed some drywall, door, framing and some paint and Voila! Instant Baby Peanut nursery! (And no moving truck, realtor fees and other headaches)

After calling around and getting quotes we found a contractor that could start the work immediately. Once again I was extremely thankful that Mimi and Papa live so close. We all packed up and moved in to their house for a week and a half while the work was done. The only thing that is left to do is to paint the nursery. We decided to do that ourselves since we don't know what color to go with yet. We may just wait to see if it is a Mr or Miss Peanut before we do it.

We had such a great time at Mimi and Papa's. It was so nice for me to have help with the kids during the day. I think my injured back finally got a chance to heal. The kids absolutely LOVED being with their Mimi and Papa so much. Papa left to go to Missouri a few days before we left. Ethan kept looking at his chair and asking "Papa?? Papa??" Now that we are at home now I think they are a little bored with little old me all day.

We are leaving to go to Myrtle Beach on Sunday. I can't decide if I am looking forward to it or dreading it. We are already prepared that it won't be the relaxing beach trip that we are used to. I am pretty sure that we will have to have one hand on Ella at all times to keep her from doing a swan dive into the pool. Ethan, on the other hand, will probably be permanately attached to my hip. I will most likely have an Ethan tan line on one side! At any rate, I am sure it will make for an entertaining and guaranteed cutie patootie pictures next entry : )

We're getting oh so big!

2008-04-24T07:17:00.002-05:00

On Friday we had our 18 month visit to the doctor. Of course they both got A+s and gold stars for being great, healthy kids. Our little monkeys are now slightly bigger monkeys. Ethan came in at a whopping 21 lbs and 31", where Ella came in at a staggering 21 lbs 6 oz and 31.5" : ) That puts Ethan in the 2nd percentile and Ella in the 10th. The doctor isn't concerned about their small size because they are growing at the same steady rate they have been. I guess when you start at 4 pounds, it just takes a little while to catch up!

Dr Betts was very please with their development physically and socially. They both showed off their walking skills for him. He was super impressed with their verbal skills....Ella in particular. She now has 30 + words! Every day it seems that they learn a new one. It is amazing to see how quickly they learn and just love to soak it all up. I guess there is an advantage to having a crazy Mama who talks all day! Now I may reconsider that when they hit that stage where they constantly talk about anything, everything and absolutely nothing!

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Fortunately I too got a gold star. It was kind of weird. I was at the OB for all of 5 - 10 minutes. In and out - everything was peachy keen! This a is new and very nice experience for Eric and I! When the doctor put the doppler on my belly to find Peanut's heartbeat, she immediately picked up a strong 150 bpm. That never happened with Ethan and Ella! Even with 2 heartbeats, they could never find them and would have to send me for an ultrasound.

Dr Blake said I don't have to come back until I am 19 weeks. I will have the big growth Ultrasound then too. IF we were going to find the sex, then we would find out then. But we are staying strong and letting it be a surprise. As Eric and I were laying in bed that night, we both just marveled about how unreal this is. Normal....so this is what it is like, huh? I think I kind of like it!

I've been Bad.....

2008-04-15T07:03:00.005-05:00

I apologize, I have been bad and not updated for a while. Life has been hectic for the Greer and Faries family. I will start out today's blog with a request for prayers for my Grandma and Papatch. A couple of weeks ago, my Papatch suffered a devastating stroke and has been in the hospital since then. Dad rushed there and has been there ever since. Mom and I have gone back and forth to Missouri a couple of times to visit. Thankfully, he is making some good progress. We are hoping today or tomorrow he will be moved from the hospital into a skilled nursing home. The great news is that Grandma can go and stay with him! We are sure that Grandma will get a good card game going with some of the residents and maybe even hustle a few of them : )

The kids are doing fantastic. They are getting cuter and smarter every day. They both have built quite the vocabulary. Last week Ella was looking at her shape book and said "Octagon!" I kid you not - I have several witnesses that have heard her say it. I kind of sounds more like Octadiggity, but hey she is 18 months! Ethan can look at his color book and say "purple." How did he know Mommy's favorite color? I need to write down their words so I can count them up for their dr appointment on Friday. It will be hard because the list has grown so much!

They are also really enjoying the warm weather. They just stand at the sliding glass door waiting to go outside each day. We have had a cold snap, so the last couple of days have been tough. They don't understand the unpredictability of Tennessee Springs yet! Ethan still has a bit of a phobia of the grass. I am continuing to do a little "therapy" with him each day so he can play tee ball and football when he gets older : )

Eric and I are doing well too. Eric's busy season has finally come to a close. We are excited to have him home earlier at night and especially on the weekends! I am getting a little more energy and little more belly. I guess the pregnancy is starting to sink in with me. I go to the doctor again next Tuesday. I am anxious to hear little Peanut's heartbeat again : )

Hoppy Easter!!!

2008-03-31T13:10:00.005-05:00

We had a fantastic Easter this year. We went to Nana and Papa's house in Paris, TN. Aunt Amy, Uncle Jamie, Houston, Madeline and Elizabeth were all there too. It is always so much fun when we all get together.....a little loud and crazy but good fun. At one point Ella was running in circles laughing hysterically because she thought she was being chased by the kids. We had to pick her up every once in a while so she could just catch her breathe.

On Saturday night, Eric and I decided it was time to tell our nieces and nephew about Baby Peanut. Eric showed them our latest Ultrasound picture and asked them what they thought it was. "A Monkey!" "An Ear!" "A Possum!" "Ethan & Ella" Oh so close!!! With a few hints, they finally got that Aunt Teppie was having another baby. Soon after that Houston said "How are you going to take care of three kids?" To which I replied "That's a good question!" And Madeline answered, "I don't know, but my mommy has enough with 3!" Oh out of the mouths of babes : ) Houston has also decided that Peanut is a boy and his name is Sam. I guess he figures he and Ethan have some evening up they need to do in the family!

Spring Break with the McCollums!

2008-03-26T07:12:00.004-05:00

Last week my nieces Emily and Meg were on Spring Break. Amy loaded them up and they came to visit us in Tennessee! We had a great time visiting and playing. Here is a quick review of the highlights in pictures......

Going to the Playground! Our original plan was to go to the zoo in the late afternoon. I called on the way to check when they closed and found out they were closing in an hour. We made a quick turn and went to the park instead. It was a lot of fun. Ethan has a wierd phobia of the grass, so it was a good time to get in some therapy : )

We finally made it to the zoo! We had such a fantastic time. Emily and Meg wrote down the animals that they saw in their journals. I was so impressed with how smart my nieces are! Ethan and Ella did so good. I am not sure that they really looked at many of the animals, but they sure enjoyed the whole atmosphere. The place they like the best was the aquarium. I think we are going to plan a trip to the Chattanooga aquarium this summer.

We also went to a bounce place then Pizza Hut for lunch. Yummy! Ella loved the bouncy place. She was so ready for is to let her down and go play. Maybe in a couple of years! We did let them bounce on the side of some of them and they really liked that. The girls also went to the movies and Miss Mable's Tea Room. They had a great time. The girls also played dress up in the dresses their Mimi made them. They loved how they swirled around. We are so glad they came to see us for Spring Break! I guess we will enjoy it while it lasts.....I am sure someday coming to Tennesse for Spring Break won't be near as cool.

February 8, 2008 SURPRISE!!!!!

2008-03-12T13:20:00.005-05:00

Ah I woke up just like the day before. I had no idea that this morning would change all our lives so much! Eric was getting ready for work and I was lying in bed watching Sports Center (his choice not mine). I remembered that I needed to call in a prescription that day. Before I could get it, I had to take a pregnancy test just in case because of its awful side effects. So off I went to do that. Unloaded the dishwasher, sat down and watched TV for a minute. Should I get the kids up? Oh no wait….better go check the test and get that out of the way.

I walked into the guest bath and looked at the test on the sink. Double take…..was that TWO lines? Huh? I must be seeing things. I hear Eric say something, so I thrown the hand towel over the test and jump back in bed. Eric says “Why do you look so weird?” I am still in shock so I say “just tired.” He goes back to the closet to finish getting dressed and I run back to the bathroom for a second look. Yes. Definitely 2 lines. How did this happen??? I mean I know how it happens for most, but no us! We were told that we couldn’t get pregnant on our own. Holy cow. Eric’s birthday is tomorrow. Boy can I have fun with this!!! I run upstairs to get the babies up and whisper my secret in their ears and they smile.

Thankfully Eric leaves shortly after that. (I am told later that I am in MAJOR trouble for letting him go to work because he would have called in sick. Whoops) I quickly call my mom, my sister, and Kristen. I know exactly what people mean when they say that they are about to pop. Kristen, my personal OB nurse, reassures me that the home tests are pretty accurate. Even so, I have my mom come over so I can get an official blood test at the doctor’s office. I still don’t believe it. I go to the bathroom and look at the test, then throw the towel over it again. When I call the doctor’s office to get the test they act like I am crazy. “Mrs. Greer, we usually don’t do blood tests if you have a positive home test.” I reply “I know, but I don’t believe it. When can I come in?” I go in immediately, get my blood drawn, and pay to have the results to me stat.
All day I am avoiding calls from Eric and his sister, Amy. How in the world could I play this one off? I can’t even sit down I am so excited! I finally get the “official positive” test results from the doctor. Hallelujah! Praise God!! I check the home test one more time and throw it in the trash.

Now how in the world do I give Eric the total shock of his lifetime??? I decided when I was at the doctor I would get the kids Big Brother and Big Sister T shirts, take their pictures in it, frame it, and give it to Eric for his birthday and let him figure it out. Well I am not sure how many of you have tried to get a16 month old kid to stand still so you can get a good picture of them and then throw in a second child??? It isn’t possible. Just take it from me. So I decided the next best thing was to just wrap up the shirts and let Eric open those.

We waited on pins and needles until Eric got home. Of course since we were anxiously awaiting him, he didn’t get home until after 7. After the kids bath, Eric read them a story and they just had to give their Daddy an early birthday present. He didn’t know it, but I was recording the whole thing : )

I was told later that Eric was thinking “Why in the world did she give me some shirts for the kids for my birthday?” Apparently what I thought was pretty plain isn’t plain to a man.

Words can’t express how eternally grateful we are for God to bless us again with a child. Every child is a miracle straight from God. We can't help to feel "extra blessed" given our history with trying to get pregnant....and stay pregnant. I firmly believe that God is watching over us and little Peanut and will keep us safe. I do ask for your prayers during my pregnancy. Of course, my experience with the 12 weeks of hospital bedrest is always in the back of my mind. I am hoping that was because I was pregnant with 2 and this time will be completely different. Please pray for us to have a uneventful, boring, run of the mill pregnancy : )

Snow Day!!!

2008-03-10T13:34:00.003-05:00

On Saturday we had our first official snow day! The meteoroliogists talked about it all week and finally they didn't let us down. We woke up on Saturday morning to 3 beautiful inches of SNOW! That is the most snow we have gotten in Nashville in years.

After we had a hearty pancake breakfast, we began to suit up to go play. Aunt Amy had saved her kids' snowsuits, so we were all set. They looked hilarious when we held them up to Ethan and Ella. Although they were 12 and 18 month sizes, they were HUGE! We were able to fold up the legs several inches and they worked well. And do you know my smart little boy went right up to his suit and pointed and the belt and said "Buckle" clear as day? Proud mommy : )

We were only out for about 15 minutes, but it was fun. They weren't really too sure what to think of it at first. They walked real cautious down the sidewalk. Ella barrelled right into the snow, took 2 steps, fell, then cried. Ethan had to be picked up and placed into the snow. They were much happier when Eric and I just carried them around. It was a lot of fun. Now we are ready for SPRING!!

Quick Update

2008-03-03T15:09:00.005-06:00

ok I have been horrible. I think it has been 3 weeks since I have updated. I can blame it on a number of things....sickness, laziness, craziness, ya da ya da ya da : )

We have been really busy. Mid February we had a real treat. My Aunt Sharon, her husband Gene, and my Uncle Lynn came to visit Mom and Dad. They have officially all seen more of Nashville than I have. We got to join them for a wonderful breakfast at The Loveless Cafe one morning and catch up a bit. It was so good to see them and we look forward to seeing them again soon!

So much growing up has happened in the last few weeks too. Ethan is now RUNNING everywhere. After dinner every night, he just runs lap after lap around the couch. If I could just have an ounce of that energy I would post every day to this blog! He is also cutting 3 molars. He is such a champ. Besides the gallon of drool that comes out of his mouth, you wouldn't know he was teething. He isn't the least bit fussy. He is also talking with a lot of words now as opposed to just his own very cute language. His favorite is acting like his is talking on his cell phone. He loves to say "Hello!" I swear it is one of the cutest things you ever will hear. His other favorite new toy is Mommy's gold sequin purse that she gave to Ella. I think it is hilarious to watch him carry it around.....Eric....not so much!

Ella is growing a lot too. In the last few weeks she has taken her first few steps to being a full out walker! She still has a bit of a Frankenstein stagger, but she is really coming along very quickly. Ella loves to play with her Buddy. She has this full bellied giggle anytime she thinks he is chasing after her. I could listen to it all day! Ella's favorite past time is reading. She would sit in my lap all day and read books. I think she gets that from her Mimi and Mommy.

We have been working on naming body parts with them for the past few weeks. The 2 we have down pat are: belly and eye. They are both very proud of their Boodha Bellies and pat them loudly anytime you ask. Be careful if you ask them where their eye is. They are just as excited about them and will poke your eye! I am trying to get them to point next to their eye, but no they like to go straight in full force. I can't even say "I Love you" to them without a little finger jabbing my eye! Every day gets more fun with them. They are developing such great little personalities and have so much fun together.

Eric and I have been extremely busy too. Eric continues to work long, hard days. We are both anxious for his busy time to be over. It is hard to have him gone all day then have to rush into the bedtime routine as soon as he gets home. We are ready for Spring time when he gets home earlier and we can enjoy each other a bit before bed.

We also decided to put our house on the market and look for a larger home. (I hear the collective sigh) I know it isn't the ideal time to sell, but it is a great time to buy so hopefully it will all come out in the wash. We are in a good position. We don't have to move, so we don't have to do anything if we don't feel like it is the right move for us. So now you know why instead of blogging during nap time I was decluttering and cleaning! Wish us luck!

Our first Tornado & Daddy turns the Big 3-0!!

2008-02-10T14:54:00.000-06:00

We have had another very exciting week. On Tuesday we went to stay with Mimi because we were supposed to have some pretty rough weather that night. Mom and I got our storm shelter stocked with all the essentials.....diapers, wipes, Cheerios, and juice.

I stayed up after everyone went to bed to watch the storm. At midnight, it was time for us to hunker down. Ethan and Ella were so confused when we whisked in the room and carried them down to the hall closet. Ethan stayed semi asleep for a little bit in my lap. Ella was ready to play. Who knew a coat closet could be much fun? I took the pictures above with my camera phone trying to keep them entertained. We stayed in the closet for about 30 minutes until we got the all clear from the weather people. Thank goodness we had no damage.

On Saturday Eric celebrated his 30th brithday. Finally he can't hold my age over my head! To celebrate, we had Nana, Papa, Amy, Jamie, Houston, Elizabeth, Madeline, Mimi and Papa over for dinner. We had some wonderful ribs that Eric grilled and topped it off with some of Nana's famous ice cream dessert.

A trip to the Beauty/Barber shop!

2008-02-03T20:22:00.000-06:00

I finally had to admit that my children's hair was beyond what I could do with my scrapbooking scissors. (Nevermind that the last time I tried to trim the back of Ethan's hairI was completely crooked.....) Friday Mimi and I packed the kids up and went to get their haircuts by a professional.

before

They were so intrigued when we got to the place that the wait flew by. You see there are some advantages to keeping your kids in a bubble ; ) They just looked around. So many new things to see and hear.

I was a little nervous when they pulled out a booster seat and asked me if they would sit in it. I was sure that they would try to dive out of it, but we gave it a try. They both did so well! They sat there semi-patiently and wore their little doggie smock like big kids.

I didn't want to cut Ella's much, so she just got a bang trim. I couldn't risk my crookedness on the front of her head! She was all about being pampered. She just grinned in the mirror and at the lady cutting her hair. She knew that she was looking C-U-T-E. Isn't that what we have been telling her all this time?

Ethan was a little more hesitant. Every time he saw a piece of hair fall he said "Uh Oh!" Instead of grinning at the hairdresser, he just looked at her like "What in the world are you doing? And why does my nose itch so much???" When it was all done, my baby boy was gone and he officially looked like a toddler.

Snots, Jailbreak, Nana & Papa, and Ducking Hunting

2008-01-29T10:47:00.000-06:00

Snots

I have fallen short of my weekly goal of updates. The main culprit of my tardiness is 2 very adorble, but very snotty kids. Last week we got a very nasty cold. The first few days were pretty miserable with lots of drool, snot, and fevers. I swear they slimed every single thing in the playroom! Thank God it hit when Eric was home for the weekend. Nana was even kind enough to come at the first of the week to help us get over the hump. We are all better now except the lingering cough. I took all yesterday to douse the house in Clorox and Wet Ones to get the germies outta here!

Jailbreak

They are gaining up on us now. I thought we had a little more time before we got to this point, but I was sorely mistaken. Last week they made a jail break from the pin. After lunch I brought them upstairs to their playroom that is blocked off with their pin. I ran back downstairs to get my lunch and bring it back up like I do every day. As I was pouring my Diet Coke, I heard giggling and footsteps overhead. My heart skipped a beat and I ran upstairs. They had broken down the pin and ran straight for their room and had all the books pulled off the shelves. (Mind you this has been no more than a minute!) I swear they must have been plotting this all along and just waiting for the right time to break free. I was just so thankful that they did not go further down the hall to the stairs!

As soon as Eric got home, we broke down the pin and pulled out our big steel gate to put in the hallway. Now we have part of the pin around our new TV. I considered putting the other part around me and the computer armoire so I could get on line while they were awake. Then I realized that would be a bit too ironic to go from kids in the pin to Mommy in it. They are thoroughly enjoying have free reign upstairs now. They just run up and down the hall. The laundry room also has a strange draw for them. I hope that means they will want to help me with it soon!

Nana & Papa and Duck Hunting

On Friday we went to see Nana and Papa in Paris, TN. They were kind enough to watch the kids for the weekend. Eric and I went on a trip to Dyersburg, TN to see our friends Pat and Brandi and their beautiful daughter, Elizabeth. Before we left, we went to visit Papa at his office so he could show off his grand babies. We got to meet some of the very nice people that he works with. Everyone Ohhed and Ahhed appropriately :) Believe it or not, but they have read the Greer Family Blog too! Hello Ladies!

Ethan and Ella did so well at Nana and Papa's this weekend. But I mean honestly....how hard can it be to be loved on all weekend and get to eat Nana's cooking? When Eric and I left on Friday night, they barely gave us another look. I must admit though, it made me happy when Ella gave us a big ole grin and hug when we came in on Sunday!

We had a great time visiting with our friends. This trip was my Christmas present for Eric. A weekend duck hunting trip with Pat. Unfortunately since it was so cold, it wasn't the best time to duck hunt. Most of the water was all frozen over. But that didn't stop them from getting up a 3, layering on all the camo, and going and sitting in the cold. I, on the other hand, rolled to the center of the bed at 3, slept until 8:30, visited with Brandi and Elizabeth, and was lazy all day. I am not sure who had the better time : )

So big?????

2008-01-18T11:43:00.000-06:00

We had our 15 month appointment this morning with Dr Betts. We got gold stars all around, but of course I wasn't surprised one bit! Here are their stats:

Ethan
Height 30 inches 15th percentile
Weight 19 lb 13 oz 2nd persentile (little peanut as Dr Betts calls him!)
Head 45.5 cm 10th percentile

Ella
Height 29.5 inches 19th percentile
Weight 20 lb 8 oz 14th percentile
Head 46 cm 54% percentile (Big Headed Sissy Monster as Daddy calls her!)

The doctor was very please with their development. They are ahead of the curve with their language. He wasn't concerned, but did ask me to call if Ella wasn't walking in a month. She demonstrated how strong she was by standing on the examining table by herself. He suspects that it is more her just being hesitant, not necessarily that she can't do it. Overall a good report!

ps - I get brownie points for 3 posts in one week
pps - Welcome to the World of the Internet Nana : )

Our First Art Class

2008-01-17T15:56:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Nana and Papa got the kiddos some beginner crayons. Today is a rainy, yucky day so I thought it was a perfect day to have our first coloring lesson. (Of course Aunt Amy will have to come over and do a guest lecture on the importance of staying in the lines, shading, etc :)

When they went down for their nap, I immediately started to get ready. Booster Seats at Kitchen Table? Check. Vinyl Table cloth to save the table? Check. Crayons? Check. coloring sheets? Check. Tape to keep them on the table? Check. Ok - I am ready, right? I have thought about just about everything.......

So we sit down to color and they look at the crayons as if to say "What in the world do you expect me to do with this? Then Ella immediately started tearing up her sheet and threw her crayon on the floor and broke it. Leaving Ethan a little confused.....

Since Ella tore up her sheet and broke her crayon, she decided to play Peek a boo instead.

Ah - ha! Ethan has it all figured out. This is what you do with crayons. I guess he has gotten his greens for the day : )

So in short, the crayons have made their way back to the closet where they will stay another few months. Apparently the person who works at Crayola who wrote 12 + months on the box hasn't met one.

So BIG!

2008-01-16T09:48:00.000-06:00

It is amazing how much can change in a matter of a few days. (another good reason I should blog more consistently!) I am amazed every day by how much my precious babies grow. And fun.....every day is so much more fun. They are each other playmates and keep me entertained all the time. God has blessed us so greatly!

Since the babies have become mobile our source of sanity has been containment. We are fortunate to have a big bonus room in our house. It used to be Eric's man room where he watched his football, etc. Now the kid's have overtaken it and it is 75% playroom and 25% man room. This has been command central. After we took down the Christmas decorations downstairs, we decided to baby proof the living room, dining room and kitchen, so they can play down there. You would think we took them to Disney World! They are so excited to be free down there. Before when they were down there they would be confined to their exersaucer and Jumperoo. Ella loves to stand by her high chair and play with the straps. I don't know what it is, but the girl LOVES to play with straps on anything and everything. Ethan loves to go through the cabinets (mental note - get more cabinet locks at Wal-Mart) I have designated one for them that I put a pot, wooden spoons, and some plastic bowls to play with. He bangs them together and wiggles his little booty.

One morning I must have been taking too long for breakfast, so Ella decided to take things into her own hand. When I walked in from getting my morning Diet Coke, I found this.....

She and her partner in crime, Majors were helping themselves to the Cheerios. I had to admire her resourcefulness! After I threw a very disappointed Majors outside, I got the broom to clean up. Ella started grabbing Cheerios by the hand full to get as many as she could before I could get to them! As I was cleaning up, I heard some clanging on the dog bowl in the dining room. Forgetting that Majors was outside I went about my business cleaning up after the Cheerio Bandit. All of the sudden it hit me and I ran to the dining room and found Ethan gobbling up some dog food! I pulled a couple of pieces out of his mouth. I don't think he ate any and the look on his face said "Mama this is really gross!" I think he now understands why Majors is always begging for his food! you can't tell in the picture, but Ethan has crumbs all over his face and his jammies. YUCKY!

Ethan is mastering walking. He walks most of the time now. Sometimes he will take another lap around the table before he gets in his highchair just for grins. such the show off. He has also learned a new word - ball. He loves to throw the ball. He just kind of flaps his arms and drops it then continue to flap his arms for a while after. It is really cute and I will try to get it on video to post.

Ella can lap Ethan a couple of times with her crawling versus his walking. I imagine someday she will find it necessary to get around on her feet instead of her hands and knees. I am in no hurry though. She would rather focus her energy on talking. She is saying baby, apple, Nana and Buddy now.

Last week we took a big step. I signed them up for a Mother's Day Our program at our church! They won't start until next Fall and that is fine. I didn't want them to start during cold and flu season given their immune systems. I am excited for them to interact with other kids and have some more planned activities. I started a Bible Study yesterday and the child care was at the same facility. They had a great time and Ella even cried when I came to pick her up. She loves playing with her new friends. Ahh.....So BIG! :)

Very Merry Christmas & and Happy New Year!

2008-01-07T13:48:00.000-06:00

As you can see from the late date of my post, it has taken us a bit to recover from the Greer family Christmas and New Year! We celebrated Christmas for about a week solid. I am sure Ethan and Ella are wondering why they aren't opening presents every day anymore!

We spent the first part of Christmas in Paris with Nana and Papa. We drove there on Friday and Eric's Amy and her crew joined us on Saturday. We had all the crazy cousins together. They had so much fun playing together at Nana and Papa's. Christmas Eve we all went home so we could celebrate our first offical Christmas at home.
Santa found his way to our house and didn't even leave a lump of coal in any of our stockings. After celebrating Christmas with Eric's family and mine, I don't think there is a single toy that our kids don't have! My Amy and her crew came the day after Christmas and stayed for a few days. It was so good to see them. Unfortunately, Ella and I both got a stomach flu and couldn't spend as much time with them as we had hoped.

New Year's came even though we were in bed by 10. I made resolutions to get more organized, get in shape, and start having a quiet time each day. I have kept the first one and am still working on the third. I decided to put the second on hold until March 1st. No hurry. I can still fit into my britches and don't have to worry about swimsuits for a while yet. One of 3 ain't bad, right? Oh yeah - one more resolution - - - be more diligent about blogging once a week : )

One week until Christmas!!

2007-12-21T07:49:00.000-06:00

We have been very busy getting ready for Christmas. There always seems to be one more trip to Target to get something or other. Considering we were zombies for Christmas last year, we are thoroughly enjoying every second of this one!

Last Friday we went to see Santa Claus at the mall. After waiting in line for over an hour it was finally our turn. Ethan just looked very confused at Santa and had a look as if to say "You are one wierd dude!" on his face the whole time. Ella didn't care for Santa one bit! She cried and cried hard. She quit for a second so we could take a picture of both of them with him. When se was put in his lap for her individual picture, she started again. I let them take a couple, then ran to get her. The only words Santa said to us was "Take her she is about to hyperventilate!!" I think Ella scared Santa Claus! So next year Mommy may be sitting on Santa's lap with Ella : )

On Sunday we went to Eric's extended family's Christmas party in Waverly. We had a great time catching up with them. This was the first time Ethan and Ella got to spend much time with some of them. Ethan really enjoyed crawling around and chasing his 2nd cousin Cameron. And Ella was happy as can be being carried around everywhere by her cousin Lydia. Here are a few pictures.

Ethan, Ella, Nana & Papa

Daddy & Ethan drinking some boiled custard. (Ethan really liked it!)

On the way home......

Ella still partying - Why won't these socks come off?

Ethan crashes from his boiled custard high

A Walker and a Talker!

2007-12-10T08:48:00.001-06:00

Every day my precious little babies take a step further and further away from being babies. It is so exciting to watch them grow but makes me a little sad too. Oh how I miss the hours I would hold them and just rock. Now there are too many things to do and see! They both have so much curiosity!

For a few weeks now, Ethan has been getting so close to walking. Finally when we got back from our trip, he took 1.....2.....then 3 steps! He isn't walking all around now. His favorite mode of transportation is still crawling since he is so fast at it. Sometimes he will take a couple of steps and you can see him think "Man if I just plop down I can get ther so much faster!" Ella is still perfectly happy crawling at 100 mph and cruising along holding on to furniture. I joke that she will start skipping instead of walking because she is always jumping about. I swear she will hold on to the ottoman and jump for 20 minutes solid. If I had her energy, I wouldn't need to work out!

Ethan and Ella have always been very verbal babies. They may not have a long list of words that they say clearly, but they definitely have their own language and communicate very clearly with us.

Ethan
1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Hey
4. Uh - Oh! This is a new one for this week. I was wondering why mine haven't said this yet when I realized I was saying "Oopsie Daisey!" to them instead of Uh-Oh! That is a pretty tall order!

Ella
1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Dada (Doggie)
4. Geegan (Ethan)
5. Hi-Ya! (As in karate chop)
6. Papa
7. Tree (she says this everytime she sees the Christmas tree......or with a sweet smile any time she wants attention)

This week we are working with them to say "Mistletoe" and "Saviour." : )

Greerswald Thanksgiving Vacation - Homeward Bound!

2007-11-30T15:43:00.000-06:00

Our trip seems like a blur. Once we got settled somewhere, we were packing up and hitting the road again! Sadly, on Friday we loaded the GMV and started our final leg of the trip home. It was cold and SNOWING!!! Although we weren't excited to drive in it, we were thrilled to see it since we get so little in Nashville. We were only in it for about 15 minutes before it quit.

The kids were excellent riders in the morning and the afternoon. In fact, Ella took her standard 30 minute nap in the first hour. Too bad that was all she would sleep for the rest of the day! Eric and I made hotel reservations for Fort Smith, AR (half way point) and Little Rock (2 hours closer to home). Late afternoon we made the call to tough it out and go to Little Rock so the next day wouldn't be as long. Boy Howdy - did those kids make us pay for that choice! Two solid hours of fussing. We sang songs, played peek a boo, put in every DVD we had just to make it through. I think we swore off going on road trips ever again a few times. When we finally got to the hotel they were happy as clams. I have never seen kids SO excited to crawl around a hotel room! Their favorite was the mirrored closet doors. I couldn't even keep Ethan still for his diaper change!!

We all slept like logs and the next day we slept in later than we have in over a year! After a yummy Cracker Barrel breakfast we were onward to home!!! The kids were in such good spirits. It was like they knew that life was almost back to normal and they could say "Good riddance!" to the car seats for a while at least. One of the videos is of them playing with Aunt Sharon's taggy blanket and the other is of Ella blowing spit bubbles. She did this for like an hour. Sorry about the angle. I had to try to be sneaky so they wouldn't stop.

We got home in time to watch the second half of the UT/UK football game. Of course when we started loosing, we considered packing up the kids and getting back in the car. ; ) So now it has been 6 days since our 8 day road trip and I think we are just about recuperated!

Greerswald Thanksgiving Vacation - The BIG Day!

2007-11-28T16:05:00.000-06:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Looking back at the last year it really is amazing! Last Thanksgiving, we had just brought Ethan and Ella home from the NICU. They spent 5 very long weeks in intensive care. We were so thankful to be able to finally take home 2 healthy babies after our long journey. Honestly, I barely remember last Thanksgiving. It was such a stressful time adjusting to having them home without any monitors telling us they were ok.

(Turkey Day 2006)

Wow what a difference a year makes. Last year we were in a our own little bubble. Fast forward to 2007.......We had a big crowd in Morse. All my aunts and uncles with there with their kids. We really missed David and Deidra because they couldn't make it. We were especially blessed this year to have my cousin Chris' 3 week old daughter, Macy, with us! Dustin and his wife, Rowena, are expecting so it was great to get to celebrate with them too.

(Turkey Day 2007)

This year Mom volunteered Eric to make the Turkey. He got a recipe from a Food Network special about how to soak the turkey in a brine then cook it in a smoker. Man was it GOOOOD!!! I am so lucky that I snagged a nice good looking guy who also happens to be an amazing cook.

While I was growing up, going to Morse was my favorite place in the world. I have so many great memories. When we were driving along the highway towards Morse, I got misty eyed when Pepa's grain elevator came into view. I am so glad that we are starting this tradition with Ethan and Ella. I am sure they will have just as many fond memories of the wonderful place and even more amazing family God has blessed them with!

Greerswald Thanksgiving Vacation - The Second Leg

2007-11-28T14:30:00.000-06:00

We had a fantastic time at Aunt Amy and Uncle Dan's. Anytime we can spend catching up with them and loving on Emily and Meg is good for us! We had a big day on Monday. We went to Cabella's to go look at the exhibit they had of animals. It was really neat. (2 guess whose idea it was to go there!)

When we got home, we played beauty shop. Amy got out her scissors and we gave the kids their first hair cut! Ethan has been sporting a mullet for far too long. You know - business in the front and party in the back? so we gave him a nice trim right across the back. Oh big boy!

Ella has a lot of hair. We have tried the "Pebbles" look, the "Shaggy" look, and "Piggy Tails" look. Any type of a bow or band in her hair is asking for trouble. So we decided it was time to cut her bangs so they don't fall in her face anymore. I think she offically looks like a toddler now!

On Monday evening, my Uncle Gary and Aunt Dara came to visit. It was so good to see them. They stayed for a couple of hours, caught up and played with the kids. Tuesday morning we started our 2nd day of driving. We drove from Amy's house to my Uncle Lynn's in Morse. Again the babies did really well but no sleep! We were able to stop on the way there and see my Great Aunt (and their Great Great Aunt!) Esther. We visited for a little bit as we enjoyed some DQ in Claude, TX.

The Greerswald Thanksgiving Vacation - The First Leg

2007-11-25T13:29:00.000-06:00

Our family has an all time favorite movie that we can only watch from Thanksgiving through Christmas. We watch it as many times as we can and quote it often. That movie is "Christmas Vacation." We started off our Thanksgiving Vacation in true Griswald fashion. Our first day was an 11 hour + drive to see Uncle Dan, Aunt Amy, Emily and Meg in Roanoke, Texas. Never fear though - I had a plan! I got up at 5 to get ready and finish packing so we could be on the road at 6:30 am. We were a little off, but at 6:40 the GMV was packed with everything but the kitchen sink, kiddos, Mommy and Daddy. Turn the key....rrrr.....rrrr. Not good. Dead battery. As Eric drove to Wal-mart in his truck to fix the problem he called his folks and we were quickly called "The Greerswalds." : )

We finally got on the road a little past 8. I have to tell you that the kids did great! For some reason though unlike most kids, ours are incapable of sleeping for more than 30 minutes. And it is also impossible for them to do it at the same time. So that meant lots of peek a boo, singing songs, a couple of videos, and handing toys to them (then throw, then hand back, then throw, then hand back, then throw, then tell them that was the last time, then cry, ignore, cry more, then hand back toy and so on and so on) We stopped at a rest area on the way to have lunch. It was so warm. It was nice to get out and enjoy the summer like weather for a bit before we hit the road.

Eric was a little distressed to be on the road on a Saturday that the Vols were playing, so we borrowed Jamie's XM radio. He signed up for a month subscription at about midnight the night before we left just so he could cheer on the Vols from the road. I have to admit though - it was pretty neat! you would never run out of things to listen to that is for sure. He is wearing headphones here because we had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse going over the car speakers. "Mishka Moushka Mickey Mouse!!"

ahh.....finally at 7:30 pm, we rolled into Uncle Dan and Amy's house......only 1250 or so more miles to go on the trip.

Type A Mommy - Blessing or a Curse?

2007-11-14T10:29:00.001-06:00

I have always been a Type A personality. It has served me well in some cases and given Eric more than a few good reasons to make fun of me. The jury is still out on whether it helps me be a better mommy or just a neurotic one.....

On my computer, I have a spreadsheet of our packing list for our trip next week, a calendar that has our meals planned out through next April, cooresponding weekly grocery lists, Ethan and Ella's daily schedule for Mimi, and a zillion folders of pictures of us organized by month and listed chronologically. I asked for Outlook for Christmas so I can organize my emails better and am more excited about that than anyone should be.

Ethan and Ella have a schedule every day. We get up between 6:30 and 7. Eat breakfast around 7:45. Go down for nap at 9....etc etc. We may vary from it a little but not much. I think the fact that I have multiples feeds into my habits. When you have 2, you just about have to have some sort of a schedule or else you wouldn't ever get anything done. Some say it is a little excessive, but I say that's me and it really works for us : )

Mimi and I have a new arrangment that has made my life so much easier. She takes the kids to her house every other week. That day I do a good clean to the whole house. I never thought that several straight hours of straight cleaning would feel so good! In fact, I told her that could be my only Christmas present from them (thank goodness she didn't bite ; )

okay....so it stresses me out when Eric puts the wrong colored top on the bottles. (COMPLETELY irks me. I swear he does it just to get a rise out of me!) Or when he tries to put Ethan or Ella in the wrong high chair or car seat (note the word tries) And I am learning to deal with Ethan not letting me have a color pattern when I put the Lego's together.
F-L-E-X-I-B-I-L-T-Y is what we are working on here.

I am sure that I will pass on this blessing/curse to one of the kids. And I am sure the other will drive me crazy in their own sweet way with their messy backpacks and loose papers everywhere.

Edited to add: ok so I just googled Type A to see what I could find and Wikapedia apparently does not think very highly of Type As. Let me clarify that I am not impatient or difficult and I do fit in well with society and I do not need to be medicated! Do you hear me????? (Just kidding : )

One Step Closer to Toddlerhood

2007-11-05T14:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we took one step closer to officially becoming Toddlers. Drumroll please.........

We turned our carseats around! That's right. Ethan and Ella can now see the world as wheels on the GMV go round and round. We have a Super big roadtrip coming up for Thanksgiving so we are hoping this will work magic like everyone keeps saying. We are driving to Dallas (12 hours), then Morse (8 hours), then back home (15 hours). As much as I am SO SO looking forward to seeing my family, I am REALLY dreading the drive. I hope it is easier than I think it will be. Regardless, the post when I get home should be interesting : )

Well that was the high of our week. The low of our week was both the kids had a very nasty stomach bug. Fortunately they didn't throw up any. Just.....the other kind....and lots of it! My best friends this week were: Lysol, Stain Stick, and Boudreaux's Butt Paste. It got to the point late in the week that I just always smelled it. I would go and check in the mirror to make sure I hadn't wiped my nose or something while I was changing one of the many diapers. (Those who have experienced this know what I mean!) Really the only escape from the smell was to go to Old Navy which I happily did every day this weekend : )

We have been really lucky in the sick department. They really haven't gotten sick that much. Much of that is probably attributed to the bubble I have kept them in. As we are ventruing out more, I knew they would get sick as they start to build their immune systems. I am just glad that we were able to hold it off until they were big and strong so they can fight it better. Even though they were sick this last week, they kept their smiles on their face, played and played.

As far as new things they are doing, they are both cruising along really well. Ethan is getting more brave each day. He will stand without any support for 10 - 15 seconds, then realize it and drop to his bottom. I can hold his hands and he will walk and giggle the whole way. Ella likes to walk around her LeapFrog table and the window seal. They both love to look out the window in the Bonus Room. They get really excited when they look out and see Daddy (shh - I think he gets more excited to look up and see them!)

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T10:41:00.000-05:00

We had a big time on our first "official" Halloween in the Greer Household. Of course, Ethan and Ella were born in time for last Halloween, but they were still in the NICU so they couldn't participate in all the festivities! This year they dressed up as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. It was an easy choice because Mickey and Minnie are their absolute favorite! Each morning when I make their breakfast, they watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Well they don't really watch it. They smile and stare at the TV when the opening song comes on and then again at the end when they sing and dance. But it generally does the trick to give me a few minutes to cook up the oatmeal and eggs for breakfast! Ella's costume fit like a glove. Poor Ethan....his was a 12 months and it still swallowed him. We had to keep pulling his ears back so they wouldn't cover his whole face. He was a really good sport though.

We were lucky that the "crazy cousins" were able to come and trick or treat for a little bit. From left to right we have Spiderman (aka Houston), the Green Fairy (aka Madeline) and Ariel (aka Elizabeth). Houston, Madeline and Elizabeth are Aunt Amy's 5 year olds. Now this Amy is not to be confused with Aunt Amy who is my sister in Texas or the other 2 Amys that are Uncle Jamie and Uncle Dan's sisters. Mid 70s were a big time for Amys : )

We hit a few houses and got a few treats for Mommy and Daddy. When we got home we had Papa John's with Mimi and Papa. This was Ethan and Ella's first time to have pizza. Ethan LOVED it! He smacked his lips and maded mmm sounds with each bite. Ella did well too. She is such a healthy eater. She even ate her green beans first!

So all in all, our first official Halloween was a success. I am already thinking of next years costumes. I plan on making the most of the few years where I have control of the costume choices!!

Our One Year Appointment

2007-10-28T21:05:00.000-05:00

So I am about a week late in posting this. What can I say? Birthdays take it out of this Mommy! Here are Ethan and Ella's stats from their one year appointment last week

Ethan

Height 29" 21%
Weight 18 lb 9 oz 3%
Head Circ 44.6 cm 8%

Ella

Height 28".25 20%
Weight 18 lb 10 oz 12%
Head Circ 45.1 cm 51% (You go girl!)

So as you can see, we have 2 little tykes for sure!!! They are in a slightly higher percentile for the Preemie curve but not much. They were so good at the appointment. They got 4 shots and their iron levels taken. Both of them still have pretty low iron, so they have to stay on vitamin drops. Overall, they got an A + and the doctor is pleased with their development. They are slightly delayed on their milestones, but that should all even out over the next year. (I can tell you that I am in no hurry for them to start walking!)

Happy First Birthday!!!

2007-10-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

Today is Ethan and Ella’s first birthday. Wow what a year it has been! Eric is taking most of the day off so we went to the Famous Loveless Café for breakfast to celebrate. My cousins Patricia, Sarah, and Collin are coming for lunch. We are excited to see them and for them to meet the babies. Can I still call them that? I think I can : )

Here are a couple of Then and Now pics of the babies…………

Ethan Then: 4 lb 4oz. 17” long

Ethan Now: 18 lb 9 oz. 29" long

Ella Then: 4 lb 17” long

Ella Now: 18 lb 10 oz. 28" long

Whew .....birthdays take it out of you. Just 364 days until we do this all over again : )

October 16, 2006

2007-10-16T14:12:00.000-05:00

October 16, 2006 - This is the day that I thought I would finally get to meet my precious babies. I thought I had been doing pretty good up until the day before. The whole time I was in the hospital I was told I was having contractions 4, 6, or 8 minutes apart. Never felt them. I always thought "How weird! That isn't the way labor is on TV!" Well on Sunday, the 15th, I finally felt my first contraction that afternoon and it never stopped until I finally had them. That night lasted forever. I was in so much pain that I didn't sleep. My stomach just felt like someone was squeezing and squeezing and my back was in agony.

On the morning of the 16th I told Eric to call my parents and get to to come to Nashville. This was finally the day! I was so disappointed when Dr Evil came in and told me that they would just up my mag yet again. My only consolation was that he would give me something to help me sleep......I thought. Instead of it making me sleep, it just made me jittery and sick. Poor Eric stayed with me instead of going to work because he was so worried about me. He had to practically carry me to the restroom when I felt sick (which was often and I am not gonna lie - I was not small by any stretch of the imagination then!) So that was a very long 24 hours.

Finally the next morning came. When they were monitoring the babies heartbeats, as they did every morning, they noticed they were unresponsive. Apparently the mag was having the same effect on them as it was me. Then my OB came and said I was dialating and "It's time to have the babies, Stephanie!" Never have words been so sweet. Eric got nervous, teared up, and prayed with me. All I could think was "Thank you God!!!!! The time is finally here!!!!!" That was at 9:45 am and they were finally with us at 11:07 (Ethan Brent) and 11:08 (Ella Bailey). That is just about all I remember about the day my babies were born. I was in and out the rest of the day. That was actually a blessing since I couldn't go to see them until the next day. If I had been with it, then I would have been a basket case not being about to see them. Eric went to the NICU to spend time with them and took lots of pictures to bring back to me.

32 weeks and 5 days of pregnancy, 79 days of Bed Rest, 69 days in the Hospital, countless pills, shots, IVs, just a few tears shed, hundreds of thousands in medical bills - all for 2 wonderful gift from God. Absolutely priceless and I would do it again and again in a heartbeat : )

The Big 1st Birthday Party!

2007-10-15T19:51:00.001-05:00

On Sunday, we had Ethan and Ella's first birthday party at Mimi and Papa's. We had a really good time. We visited with family and friends, opened presents, and ate cake. By the end of the day, Mommy and Daddy were beat. After cake, the kids were crawling around the house at warp speed! Luckily, they crashed only an hour later than usual. Unfortunately, I did not get the memo that said that babies quit taking their naps after their first birthday party! We had an entire day of nap strike today. I am hoping that by tomorrow the icing will have worked its way through their system!

Here are a few videos Eric took at the party. If you get motion sickness, you may want to take something. I think I am enrolling him in a course for Christmas........ : )

Singing Happy Birthday to Ethan and Ella

Ethan eating cake

Ella eating ALL the icing

So as I sign off, I also have a couple of tips for my friends who have yet to celebrate the big 1 with their kids.
1. Strip the kids down and be ready to run to the bathtub after the cake.
2. Your outfit......make sure you coordinate your colors with the icing. For example - me...Blue sweater and black cords with WHITE icing = BAD. Brown shirt with chocolate icing = GOOD.
3. If possible, coordinate the icing with your hair too or dye it. Otherwise you will hear "Steph you have icing in your hair" like 20 times. And for some reason, Mommies having icing in their hair is not as cute as the babies. Go figure.

Pumpkin Patch and Bringing the Zoo to the zoo!

2007-10-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

We had a very busy weekend. Aunt Amy (Tx), Emily and Meg came to see us!!!! The girls had a long weekend for Columbus Day, so they made the long drive to Tennesee. We were so excited to see them. The last time we were all together was for the 4th of July.

On Saturday we got up and went to Gentry Farms in Franklin. They have a large pumpkin patch, corn maze and lots of other things for kids to do. It was great even though it was so HOT!!! It didn't seem right to be at a pumpkin patch in your short sleeves and sweating but we perservered. Emily picked out a pumpkin for Ethan and Meg got one for Ella. Amy, Emily, Meg and I went through the corn maze and burned few calories. It was really fun. I look forward to going next year when our kids can enjoy it a little bit more. Hopefully it will be a little more like Fall too!

On Sunday we had an early birthday party for the family. Ethan got the Little People Garage and Ella got the Little People Doll House. So far (much to Daddy's dismay) the Doll House is the hit with both of them : ) We also had a trial run of the cake and it went pretty well. More went in the belly than on the floor, so we call that a success.

Our cousins from the Greer side had fall break all last week and this week too. To celebrate, Aunt Amy (TN), Houston, Elizabeth, Madeline, and my crew all packed up and went to the zoo. We really had a good time and are going to get a family pass so we can go more often. Ethan and Ella just really enjoyed the stroller ride. I don't think they cared a thing about the monkeys or elephants like their cousins did!

Not much else has changed with them. They are both working on yet another tooth. This is Ethan's 7th and Ella's 5th. They are keeping me on my toes crawling around and getting into anything and everything that is a no-no. Ethan would like to think that he can stand on his own with no help, but he isn't quite there yet. Ella is becoming more and more vocal - - - particularly at 6 am! She did the sweetest thing though earlier today. I was in a generally crabby mood because I had gone to Wal-Mart (natural side effect of shopping there) and my battery died in my minivan. She climbed up in my lap and gave me kiss after kiss after kiss for a good 2 minutes. It was great - I didn't even have to beg like I normally do! Kids are the greatest : )

HEY!!!! When did I get toddlers?????

2007-10-02T10:24:00.001-05:00

Well it has happened. They have gone and grown up on me. It is amazing how every week they learn something new and exciting. They are both crawling around at top speed. It is amazing how quick they can go! I really have to be on my toes when they are playing.

Ethan is working on 2 more teeth. These are his incisors which I hear are some of the toughest teeth for them to cut. He hasn't been too fussy so we are pretty lucky. He has started a new habit that I am not too fond of.......biting. Or I like to think of it as "love nibbles." So far he saves these little "Love Nibbles" exclusively for Mommy. That either means he loves me best (my vote) or that I am just too slow to escape him. He really doesn't do it in a mean spirited way. He does it when he is really happy and excited. It is almost like he is saying "Oh my gosh!!!! I am so excited I just have to...chomp!" Maybe it can be attributed to me always nibbling on their toes? I can't help it - they are so so cute! Well I have little Ethan bite marks on both sholders and biceps. We are really working on the word NO.

Ella also has started something new. I prefer her new act. She has started giving kisses. Now she may have watched Majors give kisses a few too many times because her kisses resemble a dog's kiss a little more than people's. Wet or not, it is absolutely the sweetest thing ever. I will gladly get every single bug she has just so I can get a kissy from my sissy : )

Eric and I are doing well. Staying busy as always. I broke down last week and got my "Mommy Do." I was sick of spending forever drying all my hair, just to put it back in a ponytail. And it would only look marginally better than the ponytail before the shower! So I chopped it. I also started a big project last week. It dawned on me that my babies are turning 1 in a couple of weeks and I have not printed off any pictures since they were in the NICU. So I spent 2 days going through all our digital pictures organizing, deleting, fixing red eyes, etc. 700 pictures ordered from Snapfish and I am on my way! Next week I will work on world hunger....

We spent the weekend with Eric's parents (Nana and Papa) in Paris, TN. We had such a great time. Nana spoiled all the kids (Eric and Me too!) with her wonderful cooking. I was afraid they would reject Mama's food when they got home! I was so impressed that they slept so well while we were there. Must have been those full bellies : )

On Saturday morning we went to go get their 1 year (Oh my Gosh!!) and family pictures taken at a wonder photographer there. The proofs are on the following site if you want to take a look: http://www.pbase.com/pbym/greer_092907. I was so pleased with how well the babies did. A couple of funny stories from the session.....it is amazing that she got the one of them on their hands and knees because it was Ethan's MISSION to get Michelle's camera! As soon as we set him down, he was cutting a trail to get to her (please see the first paragraph). But she was great. She snapped it at just the right time. The last ones of the cake were so fun to watch. At first they just looked at us like " What are we supposed to do?" Then Eric mashed their hands in it and they caught on. As you can tell, Ethan put his foot in his cake. After that, he just held it up in the air the rest of the time. Ella looked over at him and started doing it too with the same foot. As if to say "Oh!! That is what we are supposed to be doing!!" It was great fun. It is going to be impossible to pick because I think they are all great.

Just a Swinging........

2007-09-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

I simply cannot believe that we are less than a month away from Ethan and Ella's first birthday!!!

We have had a lot of excitement in our little world the last couple of weeks. We have braved Summer colds, had our first sleep over at Mimi and Papa's new house, played at the playground, grew new teeth, and have a new CRAWLER!!!!

Top Honors this week go to Sissy. She has worked hard and caught up with her Buddy. She now also has her 2 top teeth. And last Thursday, she crawled for the first time!!!! We were so excited. We knew she would do it. We just weren't sure how long she would keep us in suspense. I have been trying to catch it on video, but she stops what she is doing and strikes a pose. In addition, she still doesn't crawl a lot. She really gets around very well with her crawl/roll/lunge combo she does.

When it cooled down last week, we started walking to the playground in our neighborhood to swing. How have I deprived my children of such pure joy for so long?? I have never seen happier, more giggling babies when they swing! : )

We have finally gotten the hang of sippy cups so we are one step closer to saying "Goodbye Bottles!" The only problem is that sometimes when they are donw with it they like to fling it overboard off their high chairs. Well I think it has gotten a little to close to nailing Majors a couple of times. Now he runs and hides everytime he sees the Sippy cups. Poor Majors - this is going to be a long few years for you......

It's Football Time in Tennesseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

2007-09-07T10:37:00.000-05:00

Ethan and Ella have waited all year for our season opener last Saturday. We all got dressed up in our best Orange and White to cheer on the Vols. (Too bad they were already changed into their PJs and on their way to bed by they 7 pm kickoff!) It was a disappointing loss to Cal, but we had fun anyway.

Our tooth count is now up to 7. Ethan has 4 (2 bottom and 2 top) and Ella has 3 (2 bottom and 1 top). Unfortunately, Ethan has taken to giving little love nibbles and actually left teeth marks on my arm last week. Those little buggers HURT!!! Ella is getting closer every day to crawling. She is rocking quite a bit, but still goes backwards when she start to move. She is making good strides and is at least now showing an interest in moving. She is still on target with adjusted age of 8 months. Ethan is cruising at full speed and will take out anything or anyone in his path. He is like a little steamroller. He just crawls right over whatever is in his path. He hasn't quite figured out that he can go around something.....

This weekend Daddy is getting a real treat. He is going to Knoxville to see his first UT game in Neyland Stadium in 2 years! We are really excited that he is getting chance to go with his friends and just relax. UT Football is a way of life with his family, so it much overdue after our rough couple of years.

I was reminiscing with Mom last week about how last season was. I was in the hospital, so our tailgate was a little different but we tried to make it as "normal" as possible. Eric would hang up our UT flag in my room. He would wear his game day shirt and I would wear my best orange tank top with my sweats. My wonderful sister in law, Amy, would bring us grilled hot dogs, Rotel dip and Chips (a necessity for any tailgate.) Of course I would drink my milk and water and Eric would still sneak his whiskey drinks : ) The nurses and doctors knew they could always sneak in our room to get a score check or talk some football. After the game, Eric would disappear for an hour or so to go "make a call." After a couple of weeks I figured out that he was sitting in his truck listening to the post game radio show. Mom asked me if it made me sad to think about it and I said "No. It just reminds me how lucky we are to have such a great family."

First Big Kids baths, Pulling Up and Story time with Daddy

2007-08-23T10:04:00.000-05:00

Bath Time Baby!!!

On Sunday we had our first "Bid Kids Bath" with no bath seats! We probably could have done it a little sooner, but I wanted to make sure they were nice and steady on their booty's first. They love splashing and playing with their rubber duckies. Although it kills my back even more, we save a good 15 minutes each night by bathing them at the same time. Hooray!!!!

Pulling Up

Ethan and Ella have both gotten to be very good at pulling up. These pictures are of them pulling up in their "pin." Their pin is a big play yard we have set up in our bonus room. It is really nice because I don't have to spend all day chasing Ethan around the room as he goes after everything forbidden! I did have to get another extension to it though alst week to make it a little bigger. As big as it is, I still felt like the walls were caving in on me after a while! Now I can lay in the center and Ethan can crawl right over me and Ella can tug on my hair : )

It's Story Time with Daddy

Every night after bath time, we get in our jammies and have story time. Eric and I will alternate ights on who reads story and who runs around and gets bed time bottles together. In this picture, Eric is reading them their favorite Curious George book.

And just cuz it's cute.......

Ella was so proud of herself for getting her leg through the bumper and the slats of Ethan's crib. She just giggled and giggled!